Wants Ya

Ya Can't Love 'Em All

2010-02-01T16:02:00.012-06:00

In every sport, there is that one player, or two, or ten players you just dislike. Some you can't help but dislike, but most of the time they have done something that causes that anger. Like say smashing someone's face into the ice and breaking their neck, thus ending their career. I have at least one player or team in every sport that I watch that I dislike (The Red Sox/Jonathan Papelbon/Kevin Youkilis/Josh Beckett, The Colts, Roger Federer, Duke basketball). However, since this is a hockey blog (err, I guess you could call it that) I will discuss some of the hockey players I dislike/teams in general (I'm sure Elise will agree with most of these).

Darcy Tucker- Not only is his name Darcy, but he is one of the least classiest players in the league. Seriously, you'd think this guy would be a pansy (as in not running around knocking people around causing them harm), but he's not. He just goes around hitting people from behind. He is probably most famously known for the 2002 playoffs when his check on Peca blew out his MCL and ACL. And he is more famously known in Minnesota for his threat to poor Nick Schultz who never gets in any fights and is generally a good guy. In the 2nd period of the game, he told Schultz he was going to take out his knees. Now we know there are guys who go around spouting off nonsense and never following through with it (Yeah, Alex Burrows you could never take on Derek Boogaard, but sure the little French Canadian Pierre-Marc Bouchard). However, Tucker tried to go through with it by aiming for his knees the next period. Luckily, he only clipped him. Recently, Tucker purposely waited to see Greg Zanon's number then slammed him from behind into the boards, leaving Zanon out of sorts the rest of the game. These are only a few reasons one would dislike Tucker. I'm sure he's just upset his team has gotten their ass handed to them by the Wild the whole season.

Really, your name is Darcy Tucker? He looks older than Chris Chelios.

Todd Bertuzzi- The name just oozes "scumbag". Unfortunately this scumbag can score too, making many of us out there dislike him even more. The most infamous point of Bertuzzi's career was when he got back at Steve Moore for injuring the Canucks' leading scorer Naslund. Bertuzzi followed Moore down the ice, grabbed his jersey from behind and sucker punched him and fell on top of him. More players piled on top and Moore broke his neck and was never able to play hockey again. Congratulations, Bertuzzi, you helped end someone's career.

Steve Ott- His name reminds me of Motts applesauce, which makes me think of crisp fall days with the leaves falling.....but alas Steve Ott is not in any way as nice as a fall day. In a game against our beloved Wild, he hit Petr Sykora (now ex-wild player) with a flying elbow that smacked Sykora's face into the glass, giving him a concussion, and essentially leading the way to the end of Sykora's career with the Wild. Also, in a game against the Wild there was a mad scramble in front of Josh Harding. Schultz made an incredible stick save while Harding lay helpless on the ground, with none other than Ott on him after he magically lost his balance. He then looked down at Harding, waited a few more seconds, and FINALLY got up after Harding tried shoving him off. Josh Harding then proceeded to attack him and basically own him (ok yes, he did have all that protection on, but he was PISSED). Ott, later in the game, skated by the Wild bench laughing after he checked Boogaard. Oh yeah, but he won't fight him. I suppose it is easier to sit on a defenseless goalie than fight a 6'7 (6'8 on skates) player like Boogey.

Mattias Ohlund- The one player I dislike the most. Mattias Ohlund decided on November 16, 2007 that since Mikko elbowed him in the head (well, more like he was getting around him and his elbow brushed ohlund's head), he wanted to pay the future Captain of the Wild back. Thus, he took his stick in his hand like a baseball bat and swung as hard as he could at his legs, breaking his femur and keeping him out for 24 games.He was incessantly booed by Wild fans after this.

If Mikko had a death stare (because clearly he is too sweet to have one), that would be it.

Jarome Iginla- Ok, so it's kind of hard to dislike Jarome Iginla. But Wild fans have a reason to and that's because he's a Wild killer! Seriously, the guy scores like a point a game against us. Though it has seemed this season that he hasn't really done much against us, but it could also be that I haven't been able to watch many of the games. Oh, and he plays for the Flames. That's terribly unfortunate (just like it would be to be on the Avalanche, the Canucks, the Oilers....yeah basically any other team in the NW division :) ) Though I do give him props for having a wicked ass name: Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla

Alex Burrows- Burrows reminds me of a little animal/rodent that hides away anytime a larger animal comes up to them. Oh wait, that totally IS Alex Burrows! He cowers from any other player in the league, except 5'10, 173 pound Pierre Marc Bouchard. He also goaded Bouchard into his first NHL fight and has an inexplicable hatred for the little French Canadian who nobody else seems to have a problem with (Bouchard has been a candidate for the Lady Byng Trophy before).

Long Lost Cousins?

Startribune Article About the Rivalry

Sedin Twins- Really, does there need to be an explanation? They're some of the creepiest twins around! I don't know if it's the hair or the eyes...Anyway, they are also Wild killers and they have that whole telepathy thing going on when they're on the ice. I think I might have to go with Henrik as being the creepier one, even though they're both sporting serial killer-like gazes.

Daniel Sedin

Henrik Sedin

Brad May- Yeah, 07 playoffs anyone? He knocked out poor Kim Johnsson with a punch to the face when Kim wasn't even doing anything. His knockout punch caused Johnsson to miss the next game of the series which the Ducks ended up winning. May was suspended for 3 games. Way to be a jerk.

*Honorable Mentions: Matt Cooke, Cody Mcleod, Bobby Ryan (just because haha)
*Honorable Mention Teams: Anaheim Ducks, Vancouver Canucks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings (cause they always beat us!)

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T13:52:00.004-06:00

"Jingle Bell Rock" blasted out from Burns' iPod speakers and reverberated throughout the room. Garland was strung along the lockers and a mini christmas tree twinkled in one corner. An impromptu christmas party in the locker room caused the chaos that could be heard from just down the hallway.

"ID's people! Gary does not serve minors! Yes, that means you Colton," Burns shouted.
Owen Nolan glared at Burns as he waited for Nolan's ID, "Does it LOOK like I need to give Gary an ID?" His gray stubble was highlighted by the overhead lights.

Nick walked up to Nolan and Burns exclaiming, "It's only eggnog! You don't need an ID for that."

Antti was carrying eggnog as well. He lifted the glass towards his nose and sniffed it. "Does not smell just like eggnog. What did you do to this?"

"What? I can't understand you Antti. All I heard was blahhhgrrrrooowwwlll," Burns said.

"He said you spiked the eggnog," Mikko translated.

Nolan slapped Burns upside the head, "Look!" He pointed towards Colton who had already finished two glasses of "eggnog".

"Oh no! Burns moaned. He raced over to Colton who looked innocently up at Burns as Burns frantically waved his arms, explaining the situation.

On the other side of the room Cal was donned in a Santa Clause hat and a Christmas tree sweater. He was dancing around to the music, causing many snickers from Steph and PMB. "Jingle bell, Jingle bell, Jingle bell ROCK!" Cal shouted. Martin stared moodily up at him, his arms crossed.

"What's wrong, Martin?" James asked him.

Martin muttered something incoherent, got up, and stormed out of the room. Kim shrugged as James looked towards him for some sort of explanation.

Marian had now joined Cal as they both danced around the room. Marian suddenly halted and yelled, "My groin! My flippin' groin! OW!"

"I'm sure it's fine, Gaby. Come on! It's Feliz Navidad, I love this song!" Cal continued to dance and sing in horrific Spanish as Marian hobbled behind him.

"I'm getting too old for these kind of parties," Bruno mumbled.

"Tell me about it, i would much rather be home doing the dishes right now," Nolan agreed, as a conga line formed with Cal at the head.

Burns jumped out of the line and pulled the plug on the music. Cal stopped, looked at Burns holding the plug in his hand, and charged towards him. "What did you do that for?!"

"It's time to reveal your SECRET SANTA!!" Burns exclaimed. "Hey, Colton I have your present! Where are you?!"

"I think he's in the bathroom," Nick pointed towards a door.

Burns raced over and shoved the door open, "COLTON!!! Look at what I got you!!!"

"Not now, Burns," Colton said. "I don't feel so well. Are you SURE that was just eggnog?"

"But...but...you don't want your gift?" Burns asked, his lower lip trembling. "You're the Grinch, Colton Gillies! You're the grinch! I thought you were my friend!"

Mikko guided Burns out of the bathroom with Burns blubbering about Christmas spirit. "It's ok, Brent. I'll open your gift to him."

"Ok and then your secret santa can give his gift to you!" Burns said, lighting up.

Burns walked over to a closet and opened the door, "OK, open it, Mikko!"

"What the...?" Mikko began. "Brent! This is your pony!"

"I know! I was giving it to Colton," Burns explained.

"How dare you, Brent! Keith gave you that as a gift last year!" Mikko exclaimed.

"Oh my god. You're right. I'm a terrible person," Burns hung his head in shame.

Colton emerged from the bathroom, looking pale. "Your gift should be here any minute now."

"Really? Oh my gosh, where?! Where?!"

"It's coming on a sleigh..with reindeer and everything," Colton explained, winking at Mikko who smirked.

burns started squirming, anxious and excited. Footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway. "I know whose footsteps those are! Turn down the freaking music, Cal!" Burns shouted as Cal jumped, turning down "All I want for Christmas is You".

Keith Carney magically appeared in the doorway, "Merry Christmas everyone!"

"KEITH!!!!!!!!!!!" Burns ran and jumped into Keith's arms. "I missed you so much!!!"

Only Mikko and Colton were watching the exchange. Everyone else was opening gifts and laughing. Martin had returned and was opening a gift from Marc-Andre Bergeron. It was an instructional video on how to skate.

Mikko felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see James holding out an oddly-wrapped gift. "What's this?" Mikko asked sternly.

"Open it," James replied.

Mikko tore the paper off to reveal a perfectly folded red and green argyle sweater, size medium from J. Crew. Mikko's facial expression softened for a split second then he glared at James, "Thanks, rookie." He shoved a present into James' arms and walked away.

"But...I'm not a rookie anymore." James said. He opened the present. "Oh my god! An actual present from Mikko!" James exclaimed. He opened it to see a pair of socks that looked like they had been through the wash a dozen times. "He cares about me! He wants me to keep my feet warm, how nice."

Suddenly the door opened and Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews marched inside the locker room in all of their hockey gear.

"Yo! Look at this party!" P.Kane exclaimed, looking around.

"um, are you guys going to play in the game or not? There are 18,000 restless fans out there right now," Jonathan asked.

"Oh! Eggnog!" P.Kane said.

"Right, the game," Burns said, not even concerned as he grinned at Keith.

"Here! Put on this sweater," Cal told P.Kane tossing him a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer sweater.

"oh, man! I love the Chipmunks Christmas song," P.Kane said, turning up the volume.

"Me, too!!" Cal exclaimed.

"Come on Jonathan, I'm sure Cuddleduck has a sweater you can borrow. It's party time!" P.Kane said.

Jonathan glared at P.Kane who grinned.

"Um, it's Clutterbuck actually," Cal said.

"Whatever," P.Kane said.

"I have a mistletoe sweater, want it?" Cal asked.

"Uh..." Jonathan said.

"He probably wants a 'C' on it, so he can remind everyone he's still the captain," P.Kane said.

"Just give me it," Jonathan growled.

Burns looked around the room, proud of his party-planning skills. Everyone was laughing, dancing, and opening presents. His idea of a perfect Christmas. It was even more perfect now that Keith was finally home for the holidays.

A Wild (Finnish) Phonecall....hah hah.

2008-10-29T17:16:00.013-05:00

In honor of tomorrow night's game, Montreal Canadiens vs. Minnesota Wild, Elise & I bring you something special. Everyone is anticipating of the opening Koivu vs. Koivu faceoff & wantsya received a recording of a phone call between Mikko Koivu and Saku Koivu.

***Warning**** Some of this info may not be accurate, we had to rely on a finnish translator ;)

Saku: Hey, lil' bro!
Mikko: Hello!
Saku: Big game tomorrow night, eh?
Mikko: Oh, for sure. Too bad we will win.
Saku: *laughs* That's what you think.
Mikko: Mom is betting on me to win more faceoffs than you. And Dad thinks I will get more points.
Saku: You're such a liar!
Mikko: Well, then you talk to them, stupid!
Saku: Whatever, Mikko. Well, I will win the opening faceoff then.
Mikko: Will not.
Saku: Will too.
Mikko: Will not.
Saku: Will too.
Mikko: Will too.
Saku: HAH! I win!
Mikko: *grumbles something incoherent*
Saku: So, what's up with Gaby?
Mikko: Oh, him. I wish we would just trade him already! Wait, pretend I didn't say that. My phone could be bugged by Russo.
Saku: Whatever. Maybe I should join your team.
Mikko: NO! Then you would take over my captaincy & my spot on the top line.
Saku: Of course, because I'm better than you are.
Mikko: Whatever. At least your groin's better than his. I swear, it has a permanent defect.
Saku: *snicker* What about Martin? Has he found a new BFF yet?
Mikko: Yes, he has a new BFFF...
Saku: Huh???
Mikko: Best friend for Fucking Forever. Gosh, have you never seen Pineapple Express?
Saku: Right, continue...so this BFFFFFF thing?
Mikko: MMhm...it's Marc-Andre Bergeron, they both suck at defense. It's perfect!
Saku: Oh, I see. Never heard of him. What's up with Marney?
Mikko: That woman's everywhere. I heard she's supposed to covering some other Minnesota sports team, but she is always lurking around the locker room. It's creepy. Plus, she's always asking me questions, ugh.
Saku: We have very nice french canadian interviewers.
Mikko: You don't know french.
Saku: But they know cheese.
Mikko: What?
Saku: They asked me my favorite kind of cheese.
Mikko: Ew, you told them you like goat cheese?
Saku: No, you incompetent fool! PARMESAN!
Mikko: You're so mean to me. Why do I talk to you?
Saku: Who else would buy you argyle sweaters? I send you a package every two weeks.
Mikko: Oh, right. I maxed out one of my credit cards last week. I can't help it if I spent 5 hours in J.Crew!
Saku: What am I going to do with you little brother?
Mikko: Oh nooooooo.
Saku: What is it?!
Mikko: James is calling me on my other cell phone. I don't know how he got that number!! It's for private use only. I have to take this. I'll see you tomorrow night...when we crush you!!!!
Saku: No, you won't! Mikko? Hello? Mikko, are you there? *bzzzzzzzzz* God dammit, Mikko!!!

October 30, Game time: 7 PM CT on KSTC

Elise and Kelsey Live Blog the Wild Opener

2008-10-11T12:47:00.000-05:00

We really are best friends, I promise

Join me and Kelsey for a live blog tonight of the Wild's home opener against the Bruins. We find ourselves amusing, so hopefully you will too. Blog's going live at 6.30 (Central) and will cover the pregame on FSN North through the end of the game and possibly the postgame, depending.

A Mid-Summer Check-In

2008-07-11T13:53:00.002-05:00

While the young'ns of the Wild shake the rust off their skates this week at the Wild's Development Camp, we thought we'd check in with how a few members of the rest of the team are doing this summer. We got an exclusive first look at a dinner that took place in downtown St. Paul this past weekend.

Brent Burns, James Sheppard, Mikko Koivu, and Josh Harding are all seated around a table at Pazza Luna.

Brent Burns: Mikko, who is that?! (referring to the young finnish teen sitting next to Mikko)
Mikko Koivu: This is Eero Elo, everyone. He's from Finland and was just drafted this year.
Brent Burns: What? (a crushed look appears on his face) I thought he was a hotel! This is so unfair. I wish we had drafted a hotel. Russo is such a liar.
James Sheppard: Does he speak english?
Josh Harding: James, don't ask that! Sometimes I wonder why I'm friends with you...
James Sheppard: You're friends with me because Voros and Foy left me, and I don't have a family anymore.
Mikko Koivu: Shut up, James. Stupid rookie.
James Sheppard: Hey, I'm not a rookie anymore! I have one year of NHL experience under my belt. You better watch out, or I'm going to take your job as the #1 center on this team!
Brent Burns: Are there any crayons in this place? I want to color!
A waitress appears.
Random waitress: What can I get for you boys?
Brent Burns: I want the .... chicken fingers! Yes! Can they be dino-shaped, too?
Waitress, looking confused: Um, did you want the herb-crusted chicken dipped in italian cream sauce with a side of vegetables?
Brent Burns: Oh...uh....Sure!
Everyone else orders.
Josh Harding: So, Mikko, how is Kurtis doing?
A somber look appears on Mikko's face
Mikko: He's...all right. As well as a man can be with a giant pole in his leg! I've been over there everyday this summer. I cook his meals, do his laundry, read him bedtime stories...sometimes I think his fiancee believes I'm going to move in with them!
James: At least you would have a roommate! I'm all alone. All by my lonesome self this season. No one to help me in my darkest times, a young 20-year old living in the city..struggling to get by on a meager paycheck..
Josh: For the thousandth time already, I said you could move in with me!
James: No! I don't want to move in with you. Mikko?
Mikko: not the puppydog look, James. Ahem, anyway, Brent, how are you doing without Keith?
Brent looks up from his coloring.
Brent: It's been awful. I can't sleep. I can't eat, oh yummy bread!, and I haven't showered since he left for California. My life is nothing without Keith.
Josh: Well, how's your pony doing then?
Brent: My pony? Oh, right, him. I don't know actually. I haven't been near the barn in ages.
Mikko suddenly choked on the soda he was drinking.
Brent: Oh, don't worry, Mikko. I'm sure he's fine. He's magical after all!
James: Are you ever going to get over Keith?
Brent: He's like the jelly to my peanut butter, the Obi-Wan to my Anakin, the Ross to my Rachel! Oh! Did I tell you guys that Colton has moved in with me this summer?
Josh: Did he now? Why would he ever want to do that?
Brent: I don't knowww. Maybe I'm like a Keith to him. Oh, wow! That would be awesome. We'll be best friends now. We're going to have so many sleepovers! We'll stay up late watching scary movies and eating ice cream. This summer is going to rock!
Josh: Oh, Mikko, is that a new sweater you're wearing?
Mikko: Why, yes it is! Thanks for noticing Josh! He glares at James who almost always notices Mikko's new sweaters. I bought it at the new Lacoste store right down the street from my apartment. I just love how soft their cardigans are.
Brent: How come he doesn't talk? *points to Eero who is staring mindlessly at the wall*
Mikko: He's just shy, that's all Brent. Stop being so rude.
Brent looks down at the table and picks up his red crayon and begins drawing a picture of him and Keith in a wild field full of flowers and ponies.
James: Oh look, our food is finally here. I'm starving!
Josh: You shouldn't be putting on excess weight, you know. You have to bulk up for the season, as in get some actual muscle.
James: You sound like my dad!
Mikko: He's right, James.
James: Alright, fine. Will you go running with me later, Mikko?
Mikko pretends like he didn't hear and begins to eat his food. Twenty minutes later, everyone has finished their meals.
Josh: You look tired, Brent. You should probably head home soon.
Brent: Yeah, I didn't take my afternoon nap.
Mikko: Oh! Eero and I must go. I have important business to attend to.
Josh: Is there a sale at J.Crew?
Mikko doesn't say anything and gets up and leaves the restaurant, pulling out a credit card as he exits.
James: Well, I better go. I told my mom I would finally get a haircut. Good-bye Brent. He tosses Brent a small candy. Brent dives for it and eagerly eats it.
Josh: Bye, James! Ready to go, Brent? Brent...? BRENT? Where did you go now?!

Fres---who?

2008-06-26T14:26:00.003-05:00

I'm just as stunned as you are. Who the heck is Fresno State? Well, they're one of the campuses for California State University and are planted in front of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.It was established in 1911 and their school colors are cardinal red and blue. Their Mascot? The bulldogs.

If you're a follower of NCAA Baseball, or NCAA anything for that matter, you're probably wondering What's this school? Are they good at ANY sports? Let me answer your question, No....not really. They only have two titles to their name; their softball team won the national championship in 1998 and just a day ago, the baseball team won the college world series.

Fresno State was expected to be a much improved team this year, but they lost 12 of their first 20 games. They finished off the season with a 49-31 record. They ended up with 31 losses, the most by a CWS champ. To even get into the playoffs they had to win the Western Athletic Conference tournament. Then they had to play in the regionals, super regionals, and finally the championship. They faced elimination many times throughout the playoffs, and won all of their elimination games.

Who the heck did they have to beat? In the super regionals they played Arizona State and lost the first game, but won the next two to make it into the College World Series. There, they faced Rice and won then moved on to play North Carolina. They lost the second game, but won the first and third. Then they entered the Championship series where they played #8 Georgia, fellow Bulldogs themselves. They lost a lead in the 8th inning in the first game and ended up losing 7-6. The next game, they found themselves down 5-0, but fought back to win 19-10. In the final game, they won 6-1, all 6 runs brought in by Sophomore Steve Detwiler, who also caught the final out of the game.

Overall, they impressed everyone who watched the College World Series. They won their first men's title, were seeded 89 overall, and created one of the biggest upsets in sports. I can only congratulate them on an impressive playoff run!

Who is Buster Posey?

2008-06-07T18:28:00.006-05:00

Name: Gerald Demp Posey (AKA: Buster Posey)
Born: March 27, 1987 in Leesburg, Georgia.
Body: 6'2, 200 lbs
Bats: Right
Position: Catcher/Pitcher (originally a shortstop, switched to a catcher sophomore year)
Class: Junior
College: Florida State University
Drafted: 5th overall by the San Francisco Giants on June 5, 2008

Stats (from 2007):
Batting Avg: .382
ABs: 246
Runs: 66
Hits: 94 (21 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs)
RBI: 65

This season, he is batting well over .400 and leads the country in batting average on one of the best offensive teams in all of the NCAA.

Stats (from 2008, 6/8)
Batting Avg: .463
HR: 25
RBI: 90

Season Highlight:

Playing all 9 positions in a 10-0 win against Savannah State:
Buster Posey Plays All Positions

What's he doing now?

Well, he's probably relishing in the fact that he was one of the top draft picks of 2008, but currently he's in the middle of the NCAA super regional playoffs against Wichita State. He and the rest of the FL. State Seminoles are hoping to make it to the College World Series which starts on June 14. They're currently tied 1-1 in a best of 3 series.

Positives?
-His hitting ability. Think: Future Joe Mauer. Won't hit a lot of homeruns, but will have a good batting avg as a catcher.
-He's a catcher. Hey, any catcher is awesome, but this one can hit well. He's only got two years experience as one, but is showing positive signs for more growth.
-Um, not baseball-related, but he's kind of, sort of, really good looking.

Negatives?
-Psh, are you kidding? There are none. ;)

Digging the outfit, Buster.

3...2...1...

2008-06-03T17:04:00.001-05:00

JOBAMANIA STARTS TONIGHT!

It's Been Awhile

2008-05-10T17:09:00.002-05:00

The hockey post season is still going strong and the regular baseball season is getting into full swing as summer is approaching quickly. The All-star game is only a couple of months away! Anyway, it's been awhile since our last post, so we're going to get things started soon, maybe with a little story here or there and maybe a wrap-up of the hockey season or the first month of baseball season. Expect a post either later this week or next weekend. If not, don't expect anything until after exams and prom (early June).

You've got a friend in me...

2008-04-06T21:10:00.003-05:00

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS, HERE WE COME.

Northwest Division Champions!
(Credit: Michael Martin via Getty Images)

Who is Carlos Gomez?

2008-03-31T21:55:00.002-05:00

Why that is an excellent question. For all of us American League fans out there, it's not often you catch yourself keeping track of National League games, especially involving call-ups from the minor leagues. Let's start with the basics:

Name: Carlos Argelis Gomez
Nickname: "Go-Go", "Speedy Gonzalez"
Born: December 4, 1985 in Santiago, Dominican Republic
Body: 6'4, 195 lbs
MLB Debut: 5/13/07 for the NY Mets
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Position: Centerfield

Acquired in a trade involving 5 players from the Mets for LHP Johan Santana. (Gomez, Humber, Mulvey, & Guerrera).
Stats from NY Mets: Batted .232 (29 for 125), 3 doubles, 2 homeruns, 12 rbis, 12 stolen bases in 58 games. Was placed on the disabled list for a fracture in his hand.

During Spring Training, all talk was of who would get to play center field for the Twins. Gomez, Pridie, and Span were all vying for a spot on the Twins roster, but in the end Gomez won it after impressing Gardenhire with his speed and raw talent.

Not impressed?
7-time gold glove winner and former Twins centerfielder Torrii Hunter had only good things to say about the young 22-year old when he saw him play during the Twins/Mets series in June at Shea stadium. "Oh boy, keep working, you'll be a superstar", Hunter said to Gomez last year.

Still not impressed?
In his Twins debut, Gomez led off the first inning with a double and eventually scored on Mauer's single to center. He ended up going 2 for 3 against Jared Weaver of the Angels, stole 2 bases, had one walk, and scored 2 runs.

Twins fan and guest of Opening Day 2008, Nick Schultz of the Minnesota Wild said "He's like the Gaborik of baseball. You see the jets on that guy? Him taking off from 1st base was like seeing Gabby on a breakaway." He had no further comments as one of his fellow seat neighbors told reporters he received an angry phone call from his wife asking him where he was. Schultz said he was having some "alone time" on a "nice, quiet walk away from home". I guess the last excuse wasn't good enough after he escaped from his house for Poker Night at Mikko's condo.

There you have it. A mini-profile on a newcomer for the Twins who hope the players they acquired during the off-season pay off after saying good-byes to some of their better players and team leaders. Keep an eye out on Gomez, especially when he's on-base this season.

*Please note, all of this information may not be accurate. More specifically, any quotes we received from the opening night crowd.

Why We Can't Beat the Flames

2008-03-25T21:52:00.004-05:00

Anyone who has watched a game between the Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames knows that Flames captain Jarome Iginla has a tendency to dominate us. Hat tricks, checks, assists, and dazzling us with anything he does, he makes our entire team look like peewees. But why is that, exactly? An excellent question, Elise and Kelsey ponder:

- He was bitter that the Stars traded him to the Flames in 1995. Thirteen years later, he still holds a grudge. Unfortunately for us, he is punishing the wrong team. Jarome – the Stars are now in Dallas, not Minnesota; please direct your awesomeness more in their direction instead of ours, thanks.

- He's jealous our team is so attractive. There's a trend, he also took on Vinny Lecavalier in the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals...the only time I've ever seen either of them fight. Alas, Vinny's boys, the Tampa Bay Lightning, ended up taking the Cup in the end. See, violence gets you nowhere.

- He is competing with Brian Rolston for the title of “Captain America.” He’s already taken over the hearts of all Canadians, now he is reaching into the US. Both are #12 for their respective teams and both are captain (well, Rolston has been captain multiple times). But since Rolston already has the title of Captain America, Iggy must prove himself when he faces Rolston one on one.

- Our team is so distracted by the pure power of his full name that they get distracted and forget they are in the middle of a hockey game. Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla just oozes respect.

- He eats his Wheaties before each game. We can’t compete with that.

So, Jarome Iginla, you continue to lead your team to victories over us, and you probably will for some time to come. It’s a shame you are so likable.

Want to come play for us?

The Northwest Division and its Future

2008-03-23T18:27:00.018-05:00

The Northwest Division Now: (3/23)

Minnesota Wild: 40-27-9; GP 76; Points= 89
Calgary Flames: 39-26-10; GP 75; Points= 88
Vancouver Canucks 38-27-10; GP 75; Points= 86
Colorado Avalanche 39-31-6; GP 76; Points= 84
Edmonton Oilers 38-33-5; GP 76; Points=81

Upcoming Schedule for the Wild:

~~Mon vs. Oilers; AWAY~~ L, 3-5
~~Wed vs. Oilers; HOME~~ W, 3-1
~~Fri vs. Canucks; HOME~~ W, 4-0
~~Sun vs. Avalanche; HOME~~ W, 3-2 (OT)
~~Thu, April 3 vs. Flames; HOME~~ W, 3-1 -NW CHAMPS!
Sun, April 6 vs. Avalanche; AWAY

Home Record: 21-11-5 Road Record: 19-16-4 (as of 3-23)

Record vs. Oilers 07-08: 4-1-1
Record vs. Canucks 07-08: 4-2-1
Record vs. Avalanche 07-08: 4-2
Record vs. Flames 07-08: 1-5-1

Upcoming Schedule for the Canucks:
~~Tues vs. Flames; AWAY~~ L, 2-3
~~Wed vs. Avalanche; AWAY~~ L, 3-6
~~Fri vs. Wild; AWAY~~ L, 0-4
~~Sun vs. Flames; HOME~~ W, 6-2
~~Tues, April 1 vs. Avalanche; HOME~~ L, 2-4
~~Thurs, April 3 vs. Oilers; HOME~~ L, 1-2
~~Sat, April 5 vs. Flames; HOME~~ L, 1-7

Upcoming Schedule for the Avalanche:
~~Mon vs. Flames; HOME~~ W, 2-0
~~Wed vs. Canucks; HOME~~ W, 6-3
~~Fri vs. Oilers; HOME~~ W, 5-4 (OT/SO)
~~Sun vs. Wild; AWAY~~ L, 2-3 (OT)
~~Tues, April 1 vs. Canucks; AWAY~~ W, 4-2
Sun, April 6 vs. Wild; HOME

Upcoming Schedule for the Flames:
~~Mon vs. Avalanche; AWAY~~ L, 0-2
~~Tues vs. Canucks; HOME~~ W, 3-2
~~Sat vs. Oilers; HOME~~ L, 1-2
~~Sun vs. Canucks; AWAY~~ L, 2-6
~~Tues, April 1 vs. Oilers; AWAY~~ W, 3-2
~~Thurs, April 3 vs. Wild; AWAY~~ L, 1-3
~~Sat, April 5 vs. Canucks; AWAY~~ W, 7-1

Upcoming schedule for the Oilers:
~~Mon vs. Wild; HOME~~ W, 5-3
~~Wed vs. Wild; AWAY~~ L, 1-3
~~Fri vs. Avalanche; AWAY~~ L, 4-5 (OT/SO)
~~Sat vs. Flames; AWAY~~ W, 2-1
~~Tues, April 1 vs. Flames; HOME~~ L, 2-3
~~Thurs, April 3 vs. Canucks; AWAY~~ W, 2-1

There you have it, all the stats and schedules you could want. We'll see how the Wild fairs. That was a tough loss in Calgary last night, but at least they showed some guts at the end, instead of sitting back and letting the Flames skate right over them. A BIG congrats to Benoit Pouliot for scoring his first 2 NHL goals; it was nice to see the team so happy for him during the game.

& I leave you with two pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Yesterday....Continued.

2008-03-22T18:41:00.004-05:00

Lucky us. Wild have back-to-back games, so they get to play the despised Calgary Flames....at the Saddledome. After surviving in Vancouver and snagging 2 points, the Wild now lead the Northwest Division by 3 points. Not much, eh? So to pump up the team for tonight, here's a continuation of their adventures in Vancouver...and well, now Calgary.

One by one the Wild players snuck looks inside the locker room. Plastered on the wall was a blown up picture of the...Sedin Twins! It was enough to give a child nightmares for months. The team was gathered around the poster as candles flickered in the dark. It looked like they were praying as their heads were bent and their hands were clasped together. "Look! It's Dion Phaneuf!" Brian Rolston exclaimed, pointing towards a hooded figure in the corner. "Isn't that Jarome Iginila too?" Schultz added. Sure enough, Iginila, Phaneuf, Kiprusoff, and Alex Tanguay were clustered in a corner together wearing sketchy outfits complete with hoods to try to hide their faces.

"I wonder what they're doing in there..." Gaborik pondered, looking for Demitra to confirm exactly the same thing. "Guys, we can be like the CSI and find out what they're up to!" Burns exclaimed. "Uh, don't you mean the CIA?" James asked. "Yeah, whatever" Burns rolled his eyes. "Do any of you guys have hooded costumes like Phaneuf?"

"Are you stupid, Burns? Nobody is going to have that!" Rolston said, shaking his head. "Actually...I do," Kim said. "It was a traumatic experience, please don't ask me about it."
"Well, who should go in?" Brian asked. Burns was jumping up and down waving his hands around, while everyone else ignored him. Burns nudged James in the arm, "Tell them to pick me. They'll listen to you." James jsut stared at him. "Come on! I'll give you Mikko's phone number..." James perked up then cleared his throat, "I think Burns should go in." Everyone looked at the rookie then at Burns and slowly nodded their heads in agreement. "Cool!!!" Burns shouted. "Do I get a cool badge, too?"

"No, just figure out what they're doing. And don't screw this up," Schultz threatened him. Kim gave his costume to Burns who gleefully threw it over his head and suited up. "If I don't make it out alive, James can have my snakes." He then kicked the locker room door in and marched towards the Canucks and Flames players who were still gathered around the poster. Nobody seemed to notice Burns' extravagant entrance and he took offense to this. "Fine, if you're going to be that way" he thought to himself.

Acting with the reflexes of a panther, he slipped in behind Burrows and took the stances of everyone else. "Hey," he whispered to Burrows who looked over. "What?" Burrows asked. "What are we doing?" Burns asked. Nothing like a little interrogation to get him going. Burns saw this type of interviewing on the last episode of Law & Order where they got the confession out of the serial killer with one simple question. That was how he planned to catch the Flames and Canucks in their devious act.

"We're honoring Daniel and Henrik Sedin, duh. Without them, we would be nothing but a bunch of useless players sitting at the bottom of the Northwest Division! We do this for every single player, plus they get free coupons to the local day Spa! Just last weekend I got a nice facial massage along with a manicure! Oh, pure heaven!" Burrows responded. "You guys are a bunch of FREAKS!" Burns exclaimed and he jumped up. Using some tricky maneuvering he escaped the lair of the Sedin twins. Gasping he reached the Wild locker room. "Those guys are a bunch of pansies! If we don't beat them tonight, a bunch of little puppies will be able to!"

So with the skillful Nancy Drew detective work by Brent Burns, the Wild were able to discover just how weird the Flames and Canucks were. With this newfound knowledge, their superiority was restored and they were able to crush both teams, who were still suffering from candle burns after someone knocked them over and set fire to the locker room. (Nobody died during Brent Burns' mission which is a miracle unto itself).

March truly is Mad

2008-03-21T17:58:00.006-05:00

You know it's a bad sports day when #4 Uconn loses by 1 point, 69-70 in OT with 1.2 seconds left. Yes, De'Jon Jackson, you're one lucky bitch! Of course, we lost AJ Price for the final 34 minutes of regulation plus OT to a knee injury. He was our leading scorer, too! Man. Now I have nobody to root for in the men's NCAA tournament. Let's go back to the glory years, aka: 2004 when the men & women won the NCAA tournament. That was awesome. I remember there was a huge celebration for it, too. How often do you see a men and women's basketball team take the coveted title of NCAA Champions in the same year? Well, let's see how far the #1 women can go in the tournament. They don't play until Sunday against #16 Cornell.

On a different note, tonight is a division battle between the dreaded Vancouver Canucks and the Minnesota Wild. One bright note for Mikko Koivu is that Mattias Ohlund is out for the season, so he doesn't have to deal with him tonight. However, the team as a whole has to cope with losing Kurtis Foster for the rest of the season due to a broken left femur. Get better soon, buddy!

The locker room was silent as each of the players sat at their respective stalls.
Marian Gaborik was holding a mirror in his hand, admiring the little hairs re-growing on his head while Mikko sobbed for his hurting buddy, Kurtis. James was looking up at the ceiling with an awe-inspired look on his face. A few stalls away, Brent Burns was looking curiously at James then at the spot James was looking at. Lastly, Stephane Veilleux and Pierre-Marc Bouchard were muttering in french to each other, while shooting glances at Martin Skoula, who looked on obliviously.

Nick Schultz suddenly stood up and walked to the center of the room and everyone's eyes looked towards him. "This room is too silent. Nobody died, alright?" On cue, Mikko burst into a loud sob. "Ok, maybe according to Mikko, but we have to push Kurtis out of our minds to play 60 solid minutes of hockey." A few guys nodded around the room, except for James and Brent who were pointing up at the ceiling and giggling. "What is it?" Nick asked, glaring at them. "If you tilt your head at a 25-degree angle, the dots on the ceiling look like Marian Gaborik with hair!"James replied while Brent burst out laughing. He clamped his mouth shut as Gaborik shot an evil glare at him.

"I'm supposed to be giving the motivational speeches, Nick." Gaborik reminded Schultz. "Whatever, it's not like you're doing anything good for this team," Nick shot back. "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" Voros and T-Fed started chanting. "Take out his legs!" someone else shouted, which caused Mikko to start crying even harder, while James now sat next to him handing him tissues. Gaborik and Nick started yelling at each other while the room turned to chaos.

Suddenly Nik burst into the room, panting. "You...have...to...see...this!" Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. "I was doing my slow jog when I passed by the Vancouver locker room, and I think I've been scarred for life! Come on!" The team piled out of the room and tried to creep silently over to the Vancouver locker room to spy on the team. Brent couldn't stop giggling and Keith had to put his hand over Brent's mouth, as everyone moved on their tippy toes. They looked like a bunch of middle school kids who discovered that there was a secret path to the girl's locker room where they showered. Mark Parrish opened the door gently and a few guys stuck their heads inside. What they saw....was horrifying:

To Be Continued...

Game time: 9 PM CST. Channel: KSTC GO WILD!

In the Mind of Doug Riseborough

2008-02-28T18:46:00.002-06:00

Yes, it's true. Chris Simon is officially a Wild player. This is a tragedy we must all come to grips with, but in the meantime, let's provide some insight onto why he was even put into a Wild sweater:

1. Ok, if we need anyone to go down for a suspension, he's our man. I mean, really, we can blame it all on him when Ohlund gets taken out for the rest of the season, as he is bed-ridden for the rest of his hockey career.
2. If the Wild are going to make it to the playoffs, it's at the top of our list to play easy teams, so it should take no time at all for the entire teams of Colorado, Calgary, Vancouver, and Edmonton to be taken out. Chris Simon, once again, can be the answer to our prayers of a Stanley Cup.
3. Out of sympathy for Skoula, DR came to the rescue. I mean it's not often a team member is in dire need of a BFF, but Skoula is a special case. Now he and Simon can have countless nights full of gossip, chick flicks, and ice cream. Those two ought to have a lot of fun at their slumber parties.
4. Once again, thinking about others, DR figured that our team was full of blinding good looks, so we needed someone a bit on the .... hideous side. It's not too often you come across a team with the likes of Brian Rolston, Mikko Koivu, James Sheppard, Josh Harding, Brent Burns, Nick Schultz, Matt Foy, Mark Parrish, Aaron Voros...oh, wait, were we going to list out the entire team?
5. Honestly, we really just felt bad for the Islanders. They had to deal with this guy throughout the season which is just unfortunate for them. DR decided to take him off their hands for a bit, almost like sending a kid to daycare.
6. Chris Simon will be able to do some behind-the-scenes stuff for the organization that we, the fans, will never know about. He will work tirelessly doing the laundry for the team, providing lunch and dinner, as well as sharpening skates and tidying up the locker room. If he doesn't bring his best effort the night of the game, he knows what kind of work will be waiting for him. On the ice, he can serve every single penalty, just in case some good PK players like Koivu or Schultz happen to get the penalty. (He obviously will mysteriously appear in the box in place of the player called for the penalty and the refs will NEVER know)
7. He's a huge distraction on the ice. Really now, if you saw him skating around, wouldn't you want to turn the opposite way and run screaming for your life? That way, the Wild can win every single game on a forfeit by the other team, as they'll all be in their locker room cowering with fear, anxiety, and shock at the sight of Chris Simon. It's like Godzilla's appeared all over again.

So there you have it. Those are 7 thoughts that went through Doug Riseborough's mind as he helped concoct the deal to bring Chris Simon, former Islander, to the kind-hearted and hard-working Wild.

Wild vs. Lightning

2008-02-27T17:08:00.003-06:00

Now that PFC's are done and learned about, it's time to move onto more important things like the Wild game tonight at 6:30 PM CST. It's bright, sunny, and a bit chilly out here in MN at 5:00...It's nice having light for a bit longer.

Reported from the Yankees beatwriter blog, it's a cold, windy, and rainy day in Tampa, FL (Brr..50*!) Of course that shouldn't affect the Wild tonight, but knowing them, it somehow will and their energy will be non-existent.

Reported from inside the Wild hotel lobby..
Kurtis pokes Burns in the ribs: Dude, look. It's Chris Simon.
Burns: The Chris Simon?
Kurtis: No, my cousin's boyfriend. Yes, the Chris Simon.
Burns: Wow *pensive look* I can't believe I'm seeing him in person.
Kurtis: It's not like he's a good famous.
Burns: Well, he's famous enough to be suspended for 25 games.
Kurtis: He hit a guy in the face with his stick.
Burns: But still. It's Chris Simon.
Parrish comes over with a newspaper.
Parrish: It sounds like you two are having an intelligent conversation. What's up?
Burns: It's Chris Simon. *points over to Simon who is standing around with his travel bag*
Parrish: I know. Look. *holds open the newspaper he was reading. there's a large picture of chris simon in it*
Burns: Wow.
Kurtis: Why is he in the newspaper? I don't want him on this team! He brings too much publicity with him.
Todd Fedoruk comes over: Look, I got Chris Simon's autograph! *holds out a sock with chris simon's signature scrawled on it*
Burns: I have the same sock!
Kurtis: Why would you want his autograph?
T-Fed: It's Chris Simon.
Burns: Yeah. It's Chris Simon, Kur-tis!
Parrish: My wife already invited him over to have dinner with us and to see Gianna.
Burns: Maybe he will like my snakes.
T-Fed: Can we have a joint dinner?
Mikko comes over: Are you guys talking about Chris Simon? He has such a great sense of style! I absolutely LOVE his J-Crew shirt he's wearing. He agreed to go shopping with me.
Kurtis: I am so confused right now.
Burns: It's Chris Simon.
Keith walks over carrying his silver stick: Chris Simon signed my silver stick I got Sunday! Wow, it's such an honor!
Kurtis: He's such a mean player! Why do you all like him? I just can't comprehend this right now.

*Nick Schultz shakes Kurtis*
Nick: Kurtis, come on! We have to get to the rink for the game tonight.
Kurtis: Where's Chris Simon?!
Nick: Um, at the rink, I assume. Are you ok? you were muttering in your sleep.
Kurtis: Yeah, I'm fine...I think. Does everybody on our team like Chris Simon?
Nick: Between you and me? Everybody despises him. But the Wild organization can't know that. Bad publicity, you know?
Kurtis: Oh, good. I was worried everyone liked him.
Nick: Come on, we have to go try to win a game. You hear me, try? For once in two weeks!

Mini-Update

2008-02-24T11:03:00.004-06:00

March is going to be an awesome month because of many reasons. 1) March Madness for college basketball. 2) Spring training is heating up and at the end of the month, the Yankees have their home opener. 3) Elise & I are attending another Swarm game. 4) Um, we might be going to a Sharks v. Wild game 5) It gets warmer in Minnesota....sort of.

Yesterday I caught part of the Uconn game vs. Villanova where we came oh, so close to winning, but a free throw later and it was impossible for them to tie it up unless they got a 3-pointer from like half-court with a few seconds left. That ended their impressive 10-game winning streak which vaulted them to no.13. In other news, the women absolutely crushed St. John's 98-41, and yes they are still no. 1 but with a tough matchup coming up against no. 6 LSU.

Apparently the Yankees are running a lot in spring training. It's nice to hear updates from some of the beat writers in Tampa because the atmosphere seems really laidback and the players all have very optimistic views for the season. I only sympathize with the players because I hate running as well. But it doesn't seem to be a problem for Phil Hughes who works out in the morning and during practice. He'll be in good shape for this season. I truly hope he does well this season :). As well as IPK and Joba. They're our future!

In other more unfortunate news, Vancouver and Calgary have crept up on the Wild and are only 1 point behind. Whenever you want the Red Wings to win, they don't, especially against your Northwest division rivals. They're dumb. Haha. The game today will be very intense and I don't know if I can handle it haha. I might have to shield my eyes during the game, or at least mute it while I work on my Chem powerpoint. Since it's so early in the morning (11 AM, yes) and I feel like the last time I wrote a story I jinxed the Wild, I will not have a story. Ok, maybe it's just because I talked about Martin Skoula last time, who knows, but I'm very superstitious when it comes to sports, so I will let the game play out and hope my popcorn is put to good use.

**UPDATE** The Wild lost to the Flames 2-1 because the refs are dumb. They have now dropped to 6th in the conference, second in the division.

Here's an article you can all scratch your heads at: Male Cheerleaders....Supersized.

The Canucks are Back in Town

2008-02-19T18:33:00.002-06:00

& that means we get to boo Mattias Ohlund even more! ...wait, are we over that incident yet? Because I certainly am not. Anyway, it's a legitimate enough excuse to boo a team that is evil (minus Willie Mitchell, for Elise's sake). Since I am not feeling very creative tonight, there will be no story (now is when you start frowning with sadness). I think I deserve a break..I mean after all, I was at school for about 7 hours today after 4 blissful days off full of Wild games, TV, the Sims, and sleeping. I guess you can understand why my brain was in hibernation mode throughout the school day. I mean, if I struggled to write a 1-page paper on gender roles in Silas Marner, you know I'm having a difficult day involving words...which is basically how we communicate. Before we digress even more, let's get back onto the game tonight.

Everyone gets excited/pumped/heated for a Northwest Division opponent coming into town, so if you're not, well I don't know what's wrong with you. Last game it went into a shootout with Mikko Koivu being the victorious hero once again. Who doesn't appreciate that cutie? So tonight, let's make it our goal..or well..more like the team's goal to crush them in regulation. I suppose that might be tough with McGeough reffing, but we can handle that, Elise and I will come up with a masterful plan on how McGeough suddenly could not ref the game....Anyway, let's hope Brian Rolston is better, Mark Parrish is enjoying quality time with his new baby girl, and that Nik or Josh is up to the task of shutting down the Canucks team. So break out the popcorn (or whatever it is that you eat during games), get ready for a bunch of expletives to be shouted, and turn on the game at 7:00 to cheer on the Wild!

P.S. Elise, I do not appreciate the shot taken at me in your latest post. Not everyone in the world needs to know of my serious blonde moment I had while posting a comment on your blog. Honestly, I really can't remember if I always spelled embarrassed with one r....

Wild v. Preds

2008-02-17T21:43:00.003-06:00

It's a Sunday night game and I've been bored all day so I decided to provide some commentary on the game as it played out. It was an exciting finish, but it should not have gone to OT.
Final Score: 5-4 Wild.

1st PERIOD:
-James Sheppard graciously provided 3 keys to the game tonight. Thanks buddy.
-I was just thinking about what bad defensive karma we had and then Smithson scored (5-55 not paired up, no burns & carney line, etc.)
-I need popcorn for good karma.
-Need better defense around Backstrom.
-Gabby's doing well this period.
-NUMMY GOAL!!!! Awesome..a.ll by himself, he waits and puts it away! Nice job, buddy!!! Good job by Belanger to notice Nummelin all alone. Nummelin is such an adorable, little finnish guy.
-My dad just took popcorn from my bowl even though I told him there was some downstairs. If we lose, it's because of him.
-Now my mom came in, asked if she could have any and before I could answer, took a handful of popcorn. Bad parent karma.
-View of Smithson again...he's either a rat or a naked mole rat, your choice.
-They show Sheppard, Nummelin, and Parrish on the bench. Surprisingly it's only James with his mouthguard out.
-Hahahaha. Wild's bench door isnt firmly closed, and a Preds guy leans back and falls to the ice because the door opened on him. Really funny.
-Nice pass from Koivu to Gabby and the puck slides off Gabby's stick.
-PARRISHH GOAL!!! (funny i was just thinking earlier how nice would a parrish goal be tonight?) I was also just thinking how we were putting some good pressure (finally) on the Preds and it leads to a goal. Awesome pass by Gabby and Parrish looks relieved to finally score. A cute smile makes its way onto Koivu's face as well.
-The camera follows Tootoo who got hit with a stick. Wait, why does he looks so chubby? haha.

2nd PERIOD:
-Marney talked to mike Ramsey.....again.
-In the first 2.5 min of the 2nd period, the Wild have yet to get into the offensive zone. WTF?
-VEILLEUX RANG THE POST. fjoiewji$@$!@. I heard that baby too.
-The Sunday crowds seem really quiet for some reason (Personal experience as well, Jan 13 vs. Coyotes)
-First powerplay goes to the Preds because of delay of game. Their PP is 27th in the league out of 30.
-PP for Wild after tripping Johnsson (he went flying across the ice). Extra attacker and all of a sudden, everyone was drawn to Mason. Wait, our PP SUCKS! & so far that's evident. Nice big shot at the end by Foster. There was a shot on Burns' head, no call.
-Veilleux totally just wiped out for no reason. Anaheim goes ahead in the Calgary game thanks to Ryan Carter (elise will be happy about this)
-Another PP for the Wild b/c of interference. This PP is horrendous...and as I say that little PMB skates through about 4 Nashville players and roofs one into net!!! PMB GOAL! That little french canadian makes me smile because he's so amazing. He gives a little leg pump to celebrate.
-Rolston's birthday is this Thursday. I hope he's over the flu by then. First Parrish suffers from a concussion on his bday now Rolston might be suffering from the flu on his!
-Fedoruk almost stuffs one in the net, but is stopped by Mason, gr.. This happens seconds before he drops one glove against Hordichuk.
-Nice pass by Koivu to Skoula who got a nice shot on goal (wait SKOULA?!). I think Mikko was just being generous, he's that kind of guy.
-Marney interviews PMB on the ice and asks how he got through all of those defenders to score his goal. he nonchalantly says "Oh...i don't know...i guess a little speed".

3rd PERIOD:

-Let's hope the Wild doesn't fall back on its heels this period just because they hold a 2-goal lead.
-Freaking Erat, i hate that guy. A pass by Nummelin somehow ends up back in our zone and the puck deflects off of Johnsson's stick and into the net. (Skoula was on the ice for both goals).
-Parrish gets spun around and slams into the boards, poor guy. He skates off the ice in pain. Gelinas is laying on top of Backstrom and we get a delayed penalty. Backstrom is able to skate off and Gaborik comes flying through and the puck is placed where else but in the net?! GABORI GOAL!! That penalty is no longer necessary. Thank god we were able to come back and answer their goal.
- The puck hits the crossbar and bounces down into the crease, very close to the line, but no goal. (phew!).
-Gelinas is currently skating around without a helmet as Nashville continues to pressure us. Idk about you, but I'd be scared as hell to be out there without a helmet.
-A Predators goal..I'm just as pissed as Nik who immediately races to the refs to argue. They poked it out from under his glove (after he clearly had it underneath) and into the net. Cheap goal, very cheap.
-Gelinas gets a breakaway and gets tripped as he races towards Nik. Somehow he ends up in the net behind Nik, now that's strange. Time to put our PK to the test. Ugh, high sticking penalty on the Wild. They get a 5 on 3 for 25 seconds. This game is quickly turning ugly. Right Now is playing...yay!!
-Koivu's stick is quite helpful as he pokes at it and it flies into the crowd. The 5 on 3 finally ends. DAMMIT. They score and tie up the game. Nik believes he was interfered with and is arguing once again with the refs. Radulov is CLEARLY in the crease and they still count it as a goal. SCREW YOU REFS. Nik has NO way of trying to save anything. Thanks to the refs, the Preds are in this game.
-We have 4 measly shots on goal this period. THESE REFS ARE TERRIBLE!!! James Sheppard tries to muscle his way through to the puck but is wrapped up by a Nashville player..but no call, even though you can clearly see he is being prevented from getting to the puck for about 5 seconds.
-Burns was so close to scoring again..he could've been the hero once again. This game should not be going to OT. The blame can't be laid all on the refs, but we'll lay 99.9% of it on them.

OT:

-MARIAN GABORIK.....OT GOAL WITH 04.4. SECONDS LEFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK GOD FOR DEMITRA AND GABORIK.
-I nervously twirled my hair the entire OT period. When I heard the announcers say "Looks like this is heading to a shootout" with 28.4 seconds left, I immediately grew nervous because that would mean the Predators would score in OT, however it finally went our way and as soon as I saw Demitra and Gabby flying down the ice together I started bouncing up and down in my desk chair, clapping my hands like a little girl and then Gabby does not disappoint as he finds the net. (i know thats a run-on sentence, thank you) Thank god we won. Thank god!
-they showed the team on the bench as Gaborik and Demitra flew down the ice. Everyone got out of their seats to get a better look and lonely Mikko is the only one sitting back and relaxing. Could he at least be a little excited?
-Postgame:
Russo is rocking the purple shirt and purple tie.
They interview Gabby on the ice who actually acknowledges the crowd with a smile.

See you back here on Tuesday probably when we face the Canucks, again. Ew.

Why you should go to a Lax game

2008-02-10T10:41:00.000-06:00

OK, admit it, you've never actually heard of lacrosse before. It's not the most popular sport, except on the East Coast. Did you even know they have a National Lacrosse League that plays during the winter and an American Lacrosse League that plays in the summer? But if you're bored one Friday or Saturday night and there happens to be a Swarm game in town, go buy some cheap tickets for $10 and you won't regret it.

1) It's a completely laid-back and relaxed atmosphere. You can boo the other team as much as you want and it's pretty much encouraged by the announcers. Of course the Swarm were kind of cocky as they guaranteed a win against a 1-3 team (NY Titans, now 1-4), but then again they moved to 5-0.
2) There's actually a Kiss Cam. And they almost always zoom in on two Swarm players on the bench, who pretend to smooch with their masks over their faces. Plus, you get to see girls reject guys and vice versa.
3) If you don't know how to play lacrosse, that's OK. It's pretty easy to follow and the announcer was nice enough to explain. Plus, it's like hockey and basketball mixed, and probably some other sports, too.
4) They play music most of the time. Yes, that's sweet.
5) It's not likely there will be a bunch of old people there watching the game, unlike say hockey games. You'll probably see a majority of cute little kids, high school students, and cute college guys!
6) Tracking down program sellers is a lot harder than you think. But they make it worth it in the end ;).
7) There's still the same, delicious food you can find at Wild games. Like french fries.
8) The crowd is smaller, making it easier to scalp good seats, but they're so enthusiastic it's a bit like being at a Wild game, but with more celebrations.
9) It's a violent sport. Yes! You can knock people over, push them around, run them into the boards, and hit them with your stick. Of course, I'm sure some of those merit a penalty hehe.
10) How often do you get to yell at the other team to "Take A Seat" when they get a penalty? Yeah, not often, and definitely not in unison.

*UConn men extended their winning streak to 7 games after a win over Georgia Tech yesterday afternoon. Thabeet had 24 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 blocked shots. They went on a 20-8 run towards the end to win it.
*UConn women rebounded from a tough loss to no. 7 Rutgers, to move to 22-1 after defeating Seton Hall 82-36 yesterday.
*Andy Roddick, James Blake, and the Bryan brothers sealed the deal in Austria, defeating them 3-0, to move into the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup. Damn, didn't they JUST win that thing?!
*The Wild finally won yesterday, though it was in OT. Burns scored the winner because of who else, but Marian Gaborik? It's a bit sad we had to tie it up just to make it to OT against a team that's lost six straight. Hopefully we can prove we can beat a team soundly against the Blues tonight. Game time is 5 PM, again.

Wild v. Dallas

2008-02-07T15:59:00.000-06:00

Wild (30-19-4) vs. Stars (32-20-5)

Martin Skoula was humming to himself as he strutted down the hallway leading to the locker room. He had a towel strung over his shoulder and he thought he looked pretty damn good after practice. A shower was in order. The rest of the team was slowly filtering in after him, breathing hard and sweating after a long, intense practice. They were looking forward to eating their pasta and getting their long, afternoon naps in. However, Martin stood out from the rest, it was like a golden glow was surrounding him and like he was walking a few inches off the ground as the doors swung open before him, allowing him to enter like a god.

The rest of the team entered the locker room and collapsed on the benches, slowly stripping down and back into their normal everyday clothes. Everyone was too tired to really talk much about anything, but not Martin Skoula. He was already in the shower, still humming to himself. Ten minutes later, he returned to the stalls to get dressed. Almost everyone was ready and Keith, Kurtis, and Branko had already left.

Nick: What are you so happy about, Martin? (Nick is pretty much the only guy who will talk to him on the team).
Martin stops humming happy tunes. M
Martin: Do you really want to know?
Brent: We do. (He's curious as to why Martin is in a splendid mood as well)
Everyone begins to crowd around Martin now.
Martin: Well, if you must know.....Did you see me in practice today? I was the, what do you call it? hot shiznit!
Mikko looks over at Nik and mutters something in Finnish, while shaking his head. James, Matt, and Aaron burst out laughing, but soon quiet down. Brian snickers, but regains his composure.
Nick: That's interesting. Want to elaborate?
Martin: First of all, I scored a goal! Second, I only tripped ONCE by myself. Third, I was the only one who did not break a sweat out there. I think this bodes well for the game tonight.
He turns around and searches for his sweatshirt, while the rest of the team kind of gawks at each other. They have confused looks on their faces, kind of like when you ask Burns what his name is.
Josh walks in after spending a few minutes extra practicing.
Josh: This is bullshit! I am ready to play tonight, but I can't because NOLAN is here. Nolan who? Who names their child Nolan?
He then turns green in the face, and runs to the bathroom. I wonder why he isn't playing.
James turns to Matt..
James: Didn't Martin score on his own goalie he was defending?
Matt: And didn't he fall over not once, but four other times, all in the span of 20 seconds?
James: He played for two minutes before he was kicked out of practice.
They stand there, trying to wonder what Martin is thinking.
In martin's head:
I don't know why they're all still staring at me like I have five heads. Oh, cool I just found a dime in my pocket. I can go buy some candy with this. Wasn't I amazing in practice today? Even better than the Redwings game. Now I looked good in that game. Oh, yeah I should probably watch the tape again, I can't help but admire myself on the Cleary goal. I looked so damn cool skating around. Hm, I wonder where Ixor is, I haven't seen him for a few days....Oh, maybe I can score a goal tonight like I did in practice....
Soon everyone disperses and moves back to their stalls, except Nick and Brian.
Brian: We're a little concerned, Martin. Are you feeling okay today? It looks like you're on drugs.
Nick: Brian, you don't say that to him! You look fine, Martin. We're just a little worried, that's all.
Martin: I don't know what you're worried about! I'm like this ALL the time. Can't a guy be in a good mood?
Nick: Well, yes you can....but it seems what you said earlier was a little inaccurate.
Martin: I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't talked to you guys since I got in to the locker room.
Brian: Uh.......
Nick: Uh.........
Brian: Did you get hit in the head with a puck during practice?
Martin: what are you talking about? we haven't had practice yet. You're so silly!
Nick: I think we should be concerned.
Martin: I don't know why you're concerned about me. It's flattering and all, but I must go find Ixor. Goodbye, all! I will see you at the game tonight. I'm thinking I will get a hat trick. Have fun at practice!
Everyone looks even more confused than before.
Pavol: What the -BLEEP- is he talking about? What a crazy -BLEEP- mother -BLEEP- nimrod!
Marian: Yeah, what a -BLEEP-.
Marian turns on some weird slovak tune. Him and Pavol high five one another.
Nick: Oh, shit. What are we going to do tonight? The man doesn't know ANYTHING. Is he suffering from short-term memory loss? Maybe that's why he's happy after every loss.
Brian: Does anyone have a baseball bat and some rope?
Nick: What are you thinking, Brian?
Brian: Do you know Martin's address?

To be continued....

Game time: 7 PM CST on KSTC.

EDIT @9:29 pm: The Dallas Stars are just as annoying as the Red Wings. Hagman (what the hell kind of name is that) scored in the 3rd period to break a 0-0 tie. The Wild played very well, once again. They had about a billion (i'm not lying) good chances throughout the game, especially during the 3rd. Mike Smith had luck on his side tonight, no lie. James Sheppard took him out and we still couldn't score with a wide, open net. He also robbed Gabby about five times. Screw them! Watch out Islanders, the Wild and their fans are ANGRY!

In Case you can't read my amazing Paint writing skills with a laptop mouse it says:
"I suck! (At everything!)"
"Smith= stupid"
I also drew a puck in the net because that's where it should be, especially against him. It looks kind of real?

Are you having a good day...or a great day?

2008-02-06T20:21:00.000-06:00

So I was watching the Uconn men's basketball game tonight (where they beat their rivals for RIVAL WEEK, Syracuse, 63-61) and towards the end of the game they showed the most adorable little kid decked out in Uconn gear. He was invited to the game tonight and got to meet all of the players. He's been a fan since...well I don't know, he's still pretty young. But, as I wasn't listening that closely, I heard that when he was first born, he died for 2 minutes, but then was brought back to life and was told he only had a couple of days to live, but he proved them wrong. It was cute. If there's a story about it, I'lll post it. About the game, Uconn men have won 6 in a row now, I believe. This is a team that has no seniors on it, a far cry from the team that once had Emeka Okafor. Their top 2 scorers were out, Jerome Dyson and Doug Wiggins. Wiggins is back but Dyson is still suspended. It's nice to see them winning and they're now in the Top 25! As for the Uconn women, they were handed their first loss of the season by no. 7 Rutgers last night. Very disappointing as it was only by 2 points. They're 21-1, nothing to be ashamed of. I hope they make it far this season. One of their best players, Maya Moore is only a FRESHMAN.

Baseball spring training begins on Feb 14th, also known as valentine's day, and is the day we get our SAT scores back. Wow, way to ruin the day, collegeboard. I am beyond excited for baseball season to begin again!!! It should be a very interesting season, especially for the Yankees. Their bullpen is well....pretty much undecided. The only solid guy on their is Rivera, so far. It's their last year in Yankee Stadium. The All-star game is going to be there.

As for the wild game last night, I refuse to talk about it, only unless we mention the first two periods, which were outstanding for the Wild. They were actually dominating the Wings for 40 minutes. Of course there was a little twit named Dominik Hasek in net. My theory is that he is really a robot constructed by Mike Babcock, the crow look-a-like. IDK, what do you guys think?

Coming up the rest of this week/weekend:

-Wild vs. Stars tomorrow night, 7 PM.
-Wild vs. Islanders Saturday evening, 5 PM (Hockey Day)
-Uconn women vs. Seton Hall (whom i've been getting countless emails from about college) Saturday afternoon, 1 PM.
-Uconn men vs. Georgia Tech, Saturday afternoon, 3 PM.

Too bad Saturday is jampacked with awesome sports and I have the ACT until 1, then a winter concert starting at 7, but have to be there at 6. I think I'll be sleeping in between.

Until later...

Our Top Ten Favorite People...Ever

2008-02-03T17:07:00.000-06:00

1. Mikko Koivu/James Sheppard(Kelsey) - An adorable, blonde, blue-eyed finnish guy and a mature, attractive 19-year old Canadian. I think that merits enough for them to be #1 and #2 on our list. Plus, they're pretty good at a sport called hockey.

2. James Sheppard/Mikko Koivu (Elise) - See above.

3. JMac (Jamie MacDonald)/Glen Andresen - JMac is currently the in-game commentary guy for the Wild and his updates are frequent and informative. He uses great words like nifty. Glen has moved on from wild commentary, but he'll always be in our hearts! ;)

4. Anthony LaPanta - "I'm Anthony LaPanta" - yes, we know every single time you say it. That's why we love watching you on FSN North, especially when you talk about how horrible the White Bear Lake high school goalie is.

5. Josh Harding - He has a thing with country music. He's friends with the Rascal Flatts. Plus, he buys guitars ... for right-handers. He's adorable, young, a great goalie, and he's got a great sense of humor.

6. Novak Djokovic- Novak is probably the best tennis player ever, not just based on his athletic abilities. He's humorous and does great impressions. He also has the cutest brothers ever! It doesn't help that he's beaten Roger Federer twice and is #3 in the world.

7. Ryder Rolston - We've heard a lot about little Ryder. First of all his dad is Brian Rolston aka: Captain America. Second of all, he got to go to the All Star Game in 2007 and talk to all of the all-stars. & lastly, he bothers Marian Gaborik all the time. Who wouldn't love this kid?

8. Anders (The tour guide) / Tom (the Mini-Cooper guy) - If you haven't seen Megaworld: Sweden on Discovery Channel, you wouldn't know what we're talking about. Let's just say we learned a lot about a little town in Sweden that is built over a mine thanks to Anders. We're surprised we understood everything. Tom was in a clip about Mini Coopers and he finally spoke: "It don't go up the hill"

9. Cool Baristas at Caribou- Not only do they know Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Stephane Veilleux (two adorable little french canadians), but they get to see them every game day. Plus, they make good coffee.

10. Phil - Phil is the name of a security guard at the Vday dance. He pretty much chilled by the bar all night, probably taking shots of vodka during his shift. Not that we blame him. He did after all witness a high school dance full of horny teenagers. But th at's okay, he was decked out in all his gear (including a bullet-proof vest and nightstick). Phil is just a really cool name.

*Honorable Mention: Willie Mitchell

Wild vs. the Waterfowl

2008-01-30T16:26:00.000-06:00

First off I'd like to congratulate Elise on winning the Minnesota High School Media day contest (the official name, i don't know) for her piece on Aaron Voros. Second, I never relayed my connection to Keith Carney, which is quite exciting. Too bad I'm not secretly related to him, that'd be way cool. And he could help out with college tuition in a few years ;). Anyway, my mother is friends with this woman named Vicki, whom I've met numerous times. Apparently she works out with Amy, Keith Carney's wife. I don't know how close they are, but if you're working out with the woman, you must have a pretty good relationship with her. I stuck my nose in this and told my mom to let Vicki let Amy know I'd be willing to babysit if she ever needed it. Hey, I've had experience with two little rascals named Sid & Mel. Anyway, I also live relatively close to Keith, but not as close as Sarah, but they live basically in the same neighborhood. I think that's prety cool.

Alas, the Ducks are, as we speak, in St. Paul right about now. They're probably grabbing some dinner, while the Wild players are strutting around like the hot shit they are. It's the first game since the All-star break (Um, isn't the baseball all star break like a lot longer, at least it seems?) so of course, it's important we shrug off the rust and get to work against a newly-revamped Ducks team...even more newly-revamped than when Scotty boy came back, though Selanne is not playing tonight. Hey, it's enough to give them confidence.

Before the game starts, in the Wild locker room....

Brent Burns to Keith Carney: And so then my bird started squawking like mad while the dogs were running around the house...and I couldn't find my snake! It was just a crazy weekend Keith, you wouldn't understand.
Keith Carney: You mean I wouldn't understand losing the plane tickets to California, while Cole was throwing up and Morgan was suffering from a cold and.....
The two continue to argue...

James: Hey, Josh, you wouldn't believe who i saw reading Soap Opera Digest at Starbucks today!
Josh: Who?
James: Chris Pronger! *giggles*
Josh: No shit, man! Are you serious?
James: Would I lie?
Josh: no, i suppose you wouldn't....
Mikko: That is for sure the funniest shit I have ever heard. But I swore I saw Ryan Getzlaf on that infomercial for Rogaine on Sunday night......
James: That's almost as bad as the time I spotted Scott Niedermayer in Victoria's Secret. And he wasn't buying lingerie for his wife......if you know what I mean. & that man can't get any other woman besides the one he's got. She looks EXACTLY like Roger Federer's girlfriend...*shudder*
Mikko: Wait, what were you doing in Victoria's Secret?
James: *Blushes*
Brian: All right guys. What are we gossiping about over here?
Josh: We're talking about the girly-men that are the members of the Anaheim Ducks.
Brian: Oh! That reminds me....earlier I saw Corey Perry taking curlers out of his hair...It was the girliest shit I've ever seen.
*Everyone laughs*
Nick: Guys, knock it off. We have a game to win.
James: Oh, Nick! You're always so serious!
Nick: i have to be. the rest of you aren't. Wait, are you talking about the latest People issue that came out? I swear I practically cried when I heard about Heath Ledger. *Signs*
James, Brian, Josh, Mikko: Uh....*uncomfortable silence*
James: I should probably, um, go lift some weights before the game...
Brian: yeah, I have to go do 500 push-ups...
Josh: *Cough* I should fix my pick-up truck....
Mikko: I have to pick up some tools at the hardware store...I've been fixing up an old car...
Nick remains standing alone, deserted by everyone else, as tears stream down his face as he thinks of good ol' Heath Ledger. Later, they find him talking to Corey Perry, Chris Pronger, and Scott Niedermayer as they discuss the latest gossip news on Britney Spears, Angelina Jolie, and Nicole Richie. They're each sipping tea and getting ready to go to Yoga class.

*EDIT: Please be aware that Nick Schultz could kick any one of their girly asses. It's ok if he has a girly side he needs to let out.

Game Time: 6 PM CST.

Procrastination = Bliss.

2008-01-29T17:26:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update. For my own personal sake, Uconn men have won 4 straight, ever since Coach Jim Calhoun came back from a personal leave of absence due to illness. Two players, Jerome Dyson and Doug Wiggins, are suspended from the team due to a violation of rules involving alcohol. For a team without any seniors, they're not doing half-bad, even upsetting Indiana AT Indiana. Their record is 14-5, and 5-3 in the Big East. The women are #1 in the country and their record sits at 19-0. Back in 2002, they went 39-0.

The big news of the day is that Johan Santana has been traded to the Mets for four prospects, including three pitchers. No contract has been worked out between them, but at least Johan will be on the big stage in New York. Thank god Melky and Phil will be remaining with the team. I'd like to see some of our top prospects growing up in New York. Now I'm really anxious to snag tickets to the Twins games at the end of May and August, so I can catch a glimpse of Phil Hughes pitching! (When the Yankees come to town). Check out his blog if you're interested. He updates consistently, unlike many other athletes (though this will probably change once spring training and the regular season starts up), but unlike many other athletes as well, he updates about his personal life too. I mean, we actually know he likes The Office, for instance.

Also, the hated Ducks come to town tomorrow night for an early game at 6:00 vs. the Wild.

A Special Congrats to Nole

2008-01-27T20:57:00.000-06:00

Coming sometime this week. Way to go, buddy!

He's super after all

2008-01-24T18:45:00.000-06:00

It all started on a crazy Friday night. It was actually an exclamation point on a pretty good night. Elise and I were full of adrenaline after witnessing the unexpected: Stephane Veilleux in a Caribou Coffee on a Friday afternoon. No way were we expecting that! So we were watching the Wild game vs. the Ducks (let's forget the score) and we saw Mikko come FLYING down the ice (I used my excellent reverse psychology skills and told Mikko he sucked), his jersey flapping behind him, and he scored. We suddenly thought of him as Super Mikko.

(Photoshop skills credited to Elise)

Let's just say after I read the Michael Russo article in the Startribune this morning, I was suddenly inspired to write a preview story for tonight's game.

Mikko Koivu was by his locker stall in the Wild locker room after the morning skate. He had just taken a shower and was feeling refreshed. He slipped on one sneaker and leaned down to tie it when suddenly he felt a presence behind him. Ready to unleash any necessary kung fu skills, he jumped up and whipped his body around, arms in front ready to attack the threat he felt. Too bad it was only James Sheppard. James suddenly turned bright red, and stammered, "I'm so sorry Mikko..my bad..I, um, I just didn't mean to..well you know.."

Mikko glared at him, wondering if his superpowers would come to life and red laser beams would shoot out of his eyes, melting James to the floor. If that didn't work out, he always had his can of mace stored in the back of his jeans. He bought it after watching a late-night self defense class on TV where many of the people had been attacked unexpectedly while walking through dark, sketchy alleys at night. But suddenly his gaze softened as he saw James staring down at the floor, humiliated at the anger he had caused Mikko to feel. The kid was only 19 years old after all. It was almost like yelling at an innocent puppy who had peed on the floor, not knowing it was wrong. "That's ok," Mikko finally said. He smiled at James and turned back towards his stall, wondering if the kid was going to leave him alone.

James cleared his throat. Mikko slowly turned back around and stared at James. "I, um, well the reason I came over here in the first place...because I know you don't like to be disturbed often...well...um," James looked like a tomato he was so red. "I've been watching you...and.."
Mikko interrupted him, "I KNEW IT! You're not really a hockey player. You're an undercover agent from the FBI who is out to get me because I am illegally living here!" Mikko reached into his back pocket to grab the mace, when James yelled out, "NO! I really just wanted to tell you I really admire the way you play. I would like to learn from you. I really want to become a better center."

Mikko relaxed. "Oh? That's all you wanted to say? Why didn't you just say that in the first place?!" James breathed a sigh of relief, "I was just nervous to talk to you, that's all." "Am I really that intimidating?" Mikko said, puffing out his chest. "Er, well, yes," James replied, looking uncomfortable. "Excellent. I for sure knew that already!" Mikko said. They stood there for a few more seconds, wondering what to do. Suddenly, they both started to move away, and muttered incoherent words. "Um, well, see you at the game tonight!" James said, walking out of the locker room towards the lounge. "Yes, see you!" Mikko yelled back, opening his hands to reveal a crushed can of mace. It looked like an elephant had stepped on it. "Looks like I've got the magic touch after all," He chuckled to himself.

Game time: 8 PM CST on KSTC. Let's beat those Avs, alright?! We've got Super Mikko and his sidekick James Sheppard on our side!

Vancouver vs. Wild Preview

2008-01-21T17:04:00.001-06:00

We all know this is an important matchup between the Canucks and the Wild tonight. Not only are they fighting to stay in the top 8, but they also fighting for 1st place in the Northwest. The Canucks are in a slide and not playing well, but the Wild are known for helping teams out by losing to the ones in slides. They need to prove to everyone that they can kick a team when they're down. Here's a mini story to pump everyone up for the game:

Matt Foy stood up on the bench in the locker room, facing all of his teammates dressed in their jerseys and breezers. He paced back and forth, silent. Everyone watched him curiously. He finally spoke, "As you all know, we are in Vancouver tonight. What you don't know is that you will lose. Why is that you ask? Because I am not playing! Do you hear me? I am scratched. This is a disgrace to this organization! What will poor little James do without me on his line? NOthing! He will fail, I tell you!" Spit was flying out of Matt Foy's mouth, and James was cowering in the corner, fearful of what his friend was turning into.
Aaron Voros stood up, all 6'3 and 205 lbs of him, and led Matt Foy down from the bench where he was muttering swear words under his breath. "Sorry, guys. Foyzie's just a little bitter that's all. He gets that way too when I eat all of the cookies in our apartment."
Suddenly, Nick Schultz stood up and took the place of Matt Foy inf ront of everyone. "I may not be Captain America," he said looking over at Brian Rolston, "But I am your captain and I am here to tell you that we can beat the Pinky and the Brain twins and all of their cronies. Not only do they have a guy named Matt Cooke on their team (everyone chuckles), but they have an evil man who goes by the alias of Mattias Ohlund." Mikko Koivu slams his stick on the ground out of anger. "But we will make them pay. We will make them pay for every second of pain they have caused Mikko and this team." Kim yells out, "Ay! We will! Mattias Ohlund is a disgrace to all of us Swedes here in North America!" Nick stares blankly at him, then continues: "So tonight we will make Roberto Luongo cry and wish he never woke up this morning, we will make the Sedin twins cower on the bench, and then victory will be ours!" Everyone clapped and stood up, cheering for Nick. And then they went out and kicked the Canuck's butts.

Game time: 9 PM CST on FSN-N. Let's go Wild!

Greetings from the Arctic

2008-01-20T18:49:00.000-06:00

If anyone is watching the NFC Championship game, you'd be wise to notice it is JUST as frigid here in Minnesota. I don't know how those defensemen aren't wearing long sleeves!

Here are a few tidbits from throughout the sports world:

Baseball:
-OK OK, we get that steroids are bad, can we keep this out of Congress for now? I think they have more things to worry about than some baseball players who stuck needles in themselves years before to get an edge.
-Phil Hughes has a blog. And he actually updates.
-Spring training begins very soon! Feb. 14th pitchers and catchers report.
-Dear Yanks, don't trade for Santana, thanks.

Football:
-Patriots are 18-0, first time in NFL history. They're breaking a lot of records and making a lot of records this year, aren't they? ;)
-Let's go Giants! Wisconsin people are crazy enough, we don't need them going psycho about the Packers going to the Superbowl.
-Is anyone else satisfied that the Colts didn't make the NFC Championship?

Hockey:
-All-star break is coming up, but before that the Wild has to face Vancouver, Calgary, and Colorado.....all on the road. Sounds like a joyous road trip, doesn't it?
-Crosby is out because of his ankle. Ouch, sucks to be the Penguins.

Tennis:
-If your name is Andy Roddick, you're probably pissed. A loss in a 5-setter to a German guy whose name nobody can pronounce kind of sucks, especially if you're yelling at the crowd to shut up, slamming your racket, and yelling out loud. It's ok Andy, we still love you.
-Hey, Janko Tipsarevic, I really like you now!
-Richard Gasquet, it's not ok to swear in french on television. Tsk, tsk ;). It sucks he had to lose against a friend.
-Dear Federer, do you ever lose?

Who is having a great week?

1. Janko Tipsarevic. I'd say almost pulling off a huge upset against the #1 tennis player in the world would merit a night out full of drinks and strippers. Maybe he was too disappointed or in shock of just how ugly Federer is in person that he didn't celebrate after that match. We'll never know, but thanks for trying, the world would love you if you kicked him out of the Aussie Open, especially your fellow Serb Novak Djokovic, who if continues to win will have to face him in the Semi-finals.
2. I hate to say it, but the Anaheim Ducks. Ever since getting back their star defenseman, Scott Niedermayer, they have been playing ten times better than before. They had a six-game winning streak going on before losing to the Stars today, notching at least a point in 10 consecutive games.
3. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Sure, he may be the father of a child whose mother wants nothing to do with Tom Brady anymore who is currently dating Gisele Buchanan, but you have to respect the guy's amazing athletic abilities. He's the ARod of the NFL. The guy everybody wants to hate, but can't. He's a great leader on the field and backs it up with support from everyone around him. New England is now 18-0, and going for a win at the Superbowl on Feb. 3. Everyone is expecting them to go 19-0, but a few games in the regular season have shown teams that they're not robots, they're real human beings and a team that can be beaten. Hopefully the Pats can pull of a win against either the Giants or the Packers.

uh oh

2008-01-03T16:10:00.000-06:00

alright, quick post.
blogger has blocked my blog because apparently their robots said it was a spam blog...
so i sent them an email and they say it will be inspected in the next 2 days...
hopefully it will be up and running again soon

-elise

Last Post of 2007

2007-12-30T21:22:00.000-06:00

2007 is coming to a close. Guess what that means? Tennis starts up next month with the Australian Open! I know, excited, aren't you? But this also means football playoffs start next month/year..excellent. The Patriots went undefeated this year. Amazing, I know. Sweet 16-0. Tom Brady threw for 50 TD passes. Moss received 23 TD passes. Those two are a great duo. I know Moss can be a complete asshole, but he fits with the Patriots. He told the media he was more concerned about the team's record than his own. I'll give credit to the guy. & as much as people hate Brady (maybe because he's a great qb or because of his personal life), I must agree with what Peter Abraham of Lohud blogs said -- he's the Jeter of the Patriots. Nobody hates Jeter! He's a team leader. It doesn't hurt that he's attractive ;). Let's bring another Superbowl home with us, boys.

Elise created a hockey blog of her own. I don't know if she's going to be posting in here anymore. Pretty much this has dwindled down to the 2 amigos. Oh well - check it out: http://18658reasonswhy.blogspot.com It's mainly Wild, with other general hockey news thrown in there.

Next year I'm hoping to come up with a story every month. Our Christmas story was probably one of the best ever. Basically it's a random plot with random sports players (our favorites, of course) with hopefully some funny stuff happening. Of course, theyre usually full of inside jokes, but that's why Elise & I love them. They'll probably be related to games or something of the sort. It's hard to update during the school year (hence the reason why we had 2-4 posts starting in september). But I'll try to update especially when baseball season rolls around again (i'm getting excited already!)

Have a good new year everyone. Here's to more wins for your favorite teams, more celebrations, & most of all another great year of sports!

-Kelsey

A Christmas Story...Wants Ya Style

2007-12-28T17:38:00.000-06:00

The snow was lightly falling from the gray sky on December 25th. It was finally Christmas! Kelsey and Elise were both woken up by loud shouting coming from the other room. Curious, they both got up from their warm beds and went down the five flights of stairs to the large living room. A tree was set up in the corner, decorated with gaudy ornaments depicting past holiday memories and hand-made decorations. Both Kelsey and Elise were expert ornament makers. As children, they spent hours cutting out snowflakes and accenting them with the perfect amounts of glitter. They discovered Brent squirming in his seat near the fireplace as he greedily eyed the gifts piled under the tree. Mikko and Andy were seated on the couch, staring wide-eyed at the pure childness Brent was displaying...he literally was like a 5 year old on Christmas morning. Even Brian's son, Ryder, was more mature than Brent. Of course, Ryder is 6, so that is to be expected. Andy and Mikko both just wanted some coffee and a newspaper to read. Meanwhile, the 3 J's came into the room, followed by Keith and his four children, Brian and his three children, Novak, Torrey Mitchell, Devin Setogutchi, and Matt Carle. "The other guests will be coming soon," Justin told Elise and Kelsey. "We got to ride on Matt Carle's DOG SLED! from ALASKA!" Devin exclaimed. Keith's and Brian's children ran over to the tree to look at the beautifully-wrapped gifts, all fitted with bows and tucked neatly under the tree. Brent began to get territorial, glaring at the children whenever they came too close to his presents. Finally, Keith had to give Brent a stern talking to, even threatening to take his presents away. This caused Brent to behave.

After Doug Murray (he randomly came over) cooked everyone an elaborate breakfast, minus the children and Brent who had chocolate chip pancakes. At first, Doug insisted on cooking his favorite dish, lobster tails with a champagne creme sauce, but Kelsey and Elise convinced him to cook a more breakfast themed meal instead. Everyone was becoming eager to open their gifts. Matt had to go out to the dog sled to get the gifts Devin, Torrey, and him had brought with them. It took all three of them to bring them in, that's how many there were. Torrey handed Devin a small package and he tore it open to reveal a new pair of socks! Devin gave them to Ryder Rolston, saying he already had too many and bowed his head down in disappointment. Suddenly, his cell phone started ringing. He excused himself and left the room. Next, Keith handed Brent a very large package that had Brent bouncing up and down in excitement, "Oh my god! I bet it's a new cage for my birds! Or maybe it's a blanket for my dogs and I to cuddle under...Or.." his eyes got really big, "IT'S A NEW PONY!" He tore open the package and saw a box with a picture of a toddler wearing an odd contraption. The contraption was attached to a leash which a parent was holding, smiling. "What is it?" Brent asked, confused. Keith explained, slowly, "It's so when we go on road trips, you don't get lost. You just fit in this thing, and I hold the..well, um, rope thing, and that way I can keep an eye on you at all times! I made sure we got an adult size. Unfortunately, the one we used to use for my children was too small." Brent smiled and clapped, "That means we get to hang out a lot more when we're on the road! We can go to amusement parks! Oh, and if it's winter we can go ice skating, and build snowmen, and drink hot cocoa!" Keith sighed. What had he gotten himself into, he wondered? Devin finally returned and looked very sad. "What's up?" Matt asked him. Devin just shook his head. Elise and Kelsey went over to sit next to him. "You can tell us, Devin." He buried his face in his hands, "I...got...demoted!" He began to cry and Kelsey and Elise looked over at one another, wondering what they could do to cheer up Devin. What a bad present on Christmas. They stole the socks back from Ryder and gave them to Devin, who just pushed them away. After awhile, Devin revealed his true worry: "Who's going to do my laundry?!" Before, Torrey's girlfriend had always done it for the roommates. Kelsey and Elise promised that they would help him and that, soon, he would be back in the NHL.

Kelsey handed a perfectly-wrapped gift over to Mikko. The paper was printed with candy canes. Mikko opened it and pulled out a new sweater! "Wow! I love it. I will wear this when I am on Call of the Wild! You're the best, for sure." Then there was an odd-shaped gift for Mikko. "Who is this from?" he asked. But no one knew. He opened it to find a pair of crutches. The sender is still a secret but Mikko was heard later muttering the name "mattias ohlund" to himself. By the way, Mikko ended up getting five sweaters total (brent gave him one that had reindeer on it. mikko politely thanked him, then tossed it in the fire when nobody was looking).

The doorbell rang as Stone Rolston opened a package from Joe Mauer. It was a new toy truck and a guide on how to make sideburns look good. Joe published it during the off-season and made a few more million dollars. James Sheppard came into the room, carrying a wine bottle and a package in his arms. "JAMES!!!!" Brent and Ryder shouted at the same time. "Hey, you better not have bought that wine bottle using my credit card!" Mikko shouted, glaring at James. James did not say anything, even though he looked like he was bursting. Kelsey and Elise finally realized..."James, it's okay to speak. That's just Kim's rule. In fact, we WANT you to talk!" He smiled sheepishly and let out a deep breath. Then he said, "I got it from Darby who got it from Kevin Gorg who got it from Marney." Darby not only was tutoring James as a hockey player and as a man, but also chose to teach him the delicate art of re-gifting. Mikko was relieved his credit card was not in jeopardy. James handed the package he was carrying to Elise. Inside was a hand-knit scarf, diamond earrings, and a pair of snowboots. "My mom knitted the scarf for you," he blushed.

Everyone had opened almost all of their gifts. Brent got distracted after the sixth gift and began humming carols to himself. Towards the end, he was pouting in the corner. "What's wrong?" Ryder asked him. "Did Santa not give you want you wanted?" Brent answered, "No. He's a fat, mean man! I wanted a new pony friend!" Ryder, startled by this outburst ran to Brian and cried, "Why is Brent here? I want Marian to be here! Brent is such a sieve." Brian glared at Brent, then tried, for the tenth time, to teach Ryder the true meaning of the word 'sieve'.

"Well, that wraps up the gifts!" Elise told everyone, chuckling at her clever pun. Andy walked over to Elise, and whispered something in her ear. Elise nodded, "It seems that we have another present, but it's outside. Come on everyone!" Everyone, including Brent, after much persuasion, piled out of the room and headed out to the front door (this took about five minutes because the living room was so far away from the front door). Outside, everything looked normal. There were cars parked in the driveway, a dog sled....
"Where's the present, dad?" Keith's son said, tugging on his shirt. Suddenly a pony appeared with a ribbon tied around its neck. Brent squealed and ran over to it, stroking its neck. "Oh my god. A PONY!!!!!! ANOTHER ONE!!! I'M SO EXCITED. I LOVE CHRISTMAS!" Mikko and Kelsey snickered to themselves. Torrey and Devin were arguing about their christmas presents, who should keep the socks, and who would pay rent while Devin was gone, and Matt Carle just stood there smiling. "Who gave this to me?!" Brent asked. Nobody answered. Finally Brian spoke up, "Maybe it was Santa." Brent grinned, his belief in the magic of Christmas restored, "He's not a fat, old man after all!"

random musings...

2007-12-02T20:50:00.000-06:00

Does anyone else just adore Aaron Voros? He's the kind of crazy guy whose smile is infectious. Good game tonight by the Wild, despite many penalties not being called for them. Good to see Belanger finally getting a goal, he's had a lot of chances in the past few games. We're finally playing like a team and no one player is shouldering the entire team. It's really sad about Walz, he'll be greatly missed. Elise thinks he should become an assistant coach..I can only agree.

Baseball is still a hot topic, even in the off-season. All anyone is talking about these days is Santana. The Yankees look close to a deal with the Twins that would send Melky & Phil & another prospect to the Twins for Santana plus a load of money for his contract. If we had to send those two players to a team, I'm glad it's the Twins. I'll still be able to catch Hughes pitch & see Melky's amazing defense out in center field. Of course the deal isn't finalized yet, so they might end up staying New York anyway. The Yanks set a deadline for tomorrow. The twins are idiots not to accept it. The twins also sent Garza, Bartlett, & some other guy to the Rays for Young, Harris, and someone else...I'm very angry. I will miss Bartlett!!!

It's terrible what happened to Sean Taylor, the Redskins player. It makes you realize nobody is safe. At least they've arrested four suspects. They showed on Fox today the moment of silence they had for him at the game. RIP.

thank you, wes

2007-12-01T17:55:00.000-06:00

after a bizarre month-long leave of absence, wes walz officially retired from the NHL at 10:30 this morning.

for more information and fans' memories of walz (memories on second link), you can go to either sites:

from the team

from michael russo (star trib beat writer)

walz: we will miss you. thanks for everything.

2007-11-25T17:09:00.000-06:00

here's a little update with what's been going on with some of our favorite teams:

baseball;
twins: torrii hunter to the angels? well, okay. have fun over there..strongly dislike the angels! santana involved in a trade? guess the twins don't want to cough up the money to give to a player that deserves it. the yankees are interested, & he loves pitching in new york. i wouldn't mind seeing him in pinstripes.

yanks: the joe torre era ended, then again did anyone expect him to stay? arod opts out of his contract in the worst possible way..but now he's a yankee again? that was unexpected! i'm not going to complain, he just makes our lineup so much more powerful. posada & rivera are back as well...so far i am liking this off-season..only if andy pettite would come around..

hockey;

ahhh...the wild finally won! let's just say mattias ohlund is not on my nice list anymore. come back soon, mikko! &what's up with walz? is he even going to come back? at least demitra is returning wednesday..especially against the coyotes who normally wouldn't be a threat, but are 4-0 since getting ilya bryzgalov. sigh. what a crazy season so far. one minute it appears our playoff hopes are dashed and the next we're #1 in our division again.

football;

hahahahah...the patriots are already the AFC east champs. thanks for losing, bills.

also, vote for boogey below...woohoo!

vote for boogey!

2007-11-21T17:20:00.000-06:00

like last year, there is now a new push for an unexpected all-star...
derek boogaard!!
last year, the canucks fans (amazing they did anything smart) started a campaign for rory fitzpatrick and now some wild fans have started one for boogey.
the players on the ballot for the wild are backstrom, rolston, and gabby...(with boogey as a write in)

so, go vote!

The end of another season

2007-10-09T18:45:00.001-05:00

I had to update. The Yankees lost their game last night & were the only losing team in the Division Series to win a game. All the other teams got swept. Although I still think the Yankees should be going into Game 5 tied, or at least have won the series. The "gnats/midge infestation" on Friday Night was complete bullshit. They should've delayed the game. No player can play in that. Alas, Cleveland did outplay us. Only Sunday night showed a little of what the Yankees are. Johnny Damon got us up, & the Yankees didn't look back. Roger Clemens left injured, & Phil Hughes pitched amazing, getting his first postseason win, coming in when the Yanks were down by 3. Now we're left to wonder, Will Torre leave? Will Arod opt out? Will Posada & Rivera leave as well? I think Torre is gone, for sure. But I really don't want Posada to leave, or Rivera. We're nothing without them. Arod has been amazing to us this year. We had no right to boo him in the playoffs. He carried the team throughout the year. He even got his first rbi in the playoffs since 2004. (a homerun, nonetheless). Our other offense did nothing for us, so there was no reason to lay the blame on him for our lack of offense. The Indians got the hits with RISP, and that's all that mattered. It shall be interesting to see this Red Sox vs. Indians ALCS. You have to admit, a lot of people probably wanted to see the Yankees vs. the Red Sox. TV Ratings would soar. The Red Sox have completely solid pitching, & you have to wonder if the Indians will get offense going against them. & Will the Red Sox get any offense going against pitchers like Carmona and Sabathia? I really would love to see Sabathia outduel Beckett. I'm torn between wanting the team that defeated us to lose, and them winning because a) they're playing the red sox & b) It would be like hey, we lost to a really good team..a team that had enough to make it to the WS. I might just watch the first game of the ALCS, & for the World Series root for the Rockies or D'Backs> I really want to see the DBacks make it to the World Series.

&Before I leave, here is a quote to leave you with about the complete asshole that is Ryan Garko: "Best fans? It was great to see empty seats in the ninth inning. It was great doing this here." First of all, Fuck you, you asshole. Who the hell do you think you are to say that about Yankee fans? We stuck by them the entire season. We were there when they were 10 games below .500 and 14.5 games out. Who rakes in 4.5 million in ticket sales for one season? What stadium seats 50,000+ & it's usually all filled? The fans last night were disappointed. They realized that the Yankees were not playing Yankee baseball. But I'm sure he saw a lotttt of other fans sticking around. They stuck around when they were down 0-2 in the series. So shut your big, fat mouth about them & I hope one of the Red Sox pitchers plunks a ball in your mouth & it gets stuck in your mouth so you won't say inane comments like that again. I disliked Ryan Garko from the start, & now stupid comments like those make me even more angry. You wouldn't even see a Red Sox Player saying that. They at least have enough class to appreciate how much the Yankees fought, maybe not in that series, but they know they are a great team.

october baseball.

2007-10-04T21:07:00.000-05:00

I thought I would try to update. Basically I tried to get all my homework done before the Yankees game was on, and I succeeded. 6 PM on the dot! OK, so tennis season is "sort of" over, basically it never is, but all the grand slams are over. hockey season officially started last night, but i think it started today cuz the wild game is today. I'm watching it right now and we're winning on a bouchard goal, woohoo! I was quite excited the game was on tonight. Brings back good memories of last year =p.

Playoffs for baseball started yesterday!!!! I love the postseason..well only if the yankees are in it, which, of course they are. Amazing run by them. 50-25 since the all-star break. Of course they lost the first game against Cleveland. Chien-Ming Wang did not have his stuff at all tonight. it was sort of painful to watch. Johnny Damon hit a lead-off homerun off of Sabathia (who will probably be the cy young winner..actually ill shoot someone if he isn't..like if beckett gets it!). Then things fell apart for the Yankees. I'm kind of nervous about our bullpen. They basically gave up 5 runs. Of course that was Ohlendrof, Veras, and Hughes pitching. I hope the Yanks can bounce back from this tomorrow. Andy Pettite is someone you want on the mound. Chien-Ming Wang is not exactly great on the road. He's not terrible, but he's much better at home. Go Yanks! =)

oh&cleveland indian fans are assholes. Who the hell starts a "Yankees suck" chant when they're fricking winning, and the Yankees are up to bat, with nobody on base? Yeah, fricking idiots, get some class.

goodbye baseball, hello james sheppard

2007-09-30T14:24:00.001-05:00

wow, long time without a post. you can blame that one on high school/tennis/school paper. lots of things to talk about today:

baseball season ends today. twins had a decent season before falling into oblivion the past month. today is the last day for many of us to see some players in a twins uni...rondell white is set to retire, torii hunter will likely leave as a free agent, it's possible we will trade johan santana soon since there's about a 2% chance he'll re-sign with us, etc...depressing end to a less than spectacular season.

(l-r: white, hunter, santana)

on a happier note:

HOCKEY SEASON IS BACK!!!!!

preseason is well underway and regular season for the wild and sharks will start next week. unfortunately, chris pronger is now the official capt of the ducks and scott niedermeyer and teemu selanne have yet to decide whether or not to retire yet. on the other hand, guess who's still up with the ducks during their london premiere against he kings? ryan carterrrrrr! carter is from my wonderful home of white bear lake, played for MSU, and was called up for the ducks stanley cup run last yr. i got the chance to meet him/get a signed pic last yr when he brought the cup home to wb sports center.

for the wild, the two younguns who made the team? how about first we go over who didn't make the team. petr kalus and benoit pouliot both were extremely close to staying with the big club, however it was easier to keep matt foy and erik reitz since both require waivers to be sent back down to houston while kalus and pouliot dont. good sign for pouliot though, JL loveddd him.

now, the most exciting thing, for me at least:

JAMES SHEPPARD MADE THE TEAM!!

i have been a big fan of sheppard ever since we drafted him last yr. since he was only 19, he could not play for houston (cut off age there is 20) however he completely dominated the QMJHL last yr with cape breton so we signed him to a 3 yr contract and after 9 games, we decide whether to keep him with us or not. it's looking like we will keep him however!!

school..what?

2007-08-27T17:47:00.000-05:00

gosh, elise's post just made me depressed haha. school..no more baseball..how will i survive? oh that's right..hockey season, football season, and college basketball!! plus seeing my friends every day. she's right..baseball season may just be heating up, but it's ending in a month. i'm very depressed. the yanks games get me by on some days. nothing like a win to cheer me up! seeing how we're 7.5 games out of the AL East, i'm hoping for a wild card win. the yankees schedule gets easier after the red sox series, while the mariners (wild card leaders) gets harder. here's to a push for the playoffs!

us open started today. i'm beyond excited. as an si.com writer wrote, "early round play in tennis is just another word for tennis geeks". yup, i'm watching the early round play. donald young. wow i love that guy. he's only a year and a few months older than me too..and he's playing in the us open. wow. john isner won today..i'm so happy! he's proven he can beat #26 in the world! his serve=WOW. let's hope andy and novak can get far! wooo! i'm off to go watch the yankees and tigers game!

summer is winding down...

2007-08-26T16:03:00.000-05:00

alas, it is now close to labor day which means summer is winding down and school is starting up. the baseballs and bats will be put away to make way for the sticks and pucks of hockey season. however this also means that, for us, school starts soon...tuesday to be exact. which sucks. however this also means we will be busier than ever. for me, it will be not only school, but the tennis season, riding horses, and being the school paper's co-sports editor. not much time for a blog...we will try though.

so both the yankees and the twins making a post-season push...whether either of them will achieve that is iffy however the yanks are closer than the twins.

the sharks re-signed milan michalek to a 6 yr deal

us open is coming up soon!!!

hockey timeline:
september 7 - new uniforms unveiled
september 13 - off ice training camp
september 17 - on ice training camp
september 18 - september 30 - pre-season
OCTOBER 4 - HOCKEY IS OFFICIALLY BACK!!!

B*nds

2007-08-09T13:33:00.000-05:00

Homerun no. 757 for the guy. Innocent until proven guilty, right? Well, the guy's a huge ass, if he used steroids or not. People are entitled to their opinions and if they like him, well that's their problem. Yankee fans all over are hoping ARod stays healthy and can someday beat his record, wherever he'll stop. Maybe even Ken Griffey JR. will take a shot at it, who knows.

Yankees have best record in the Major League since the All-star break. Everyone is saying "Oh that's because they played awful teams" -- Royals, devil Rays, Orioles, Blue Jays (though they are over .500) but so what? They took complete advantage of that, now the true test is coming Friday against Cleveland. If the Yankees can take series against Cleveland, DEtroit, Angels, Bosox, it'll be a huge accomplishment. I'm rooting for them, come on Yanks =) BTW, I think Toronto is trying to rival the Yankees/Red Sox Rivalry ;)

August 20th, Elise, Sarah, and I are going to a Twins/Seattle game! Go Twins! I want them to especially beat seattle since theyre in the thick of the playoff / wild card race. Seats behind 3rd base, will be fun, of course! Baseball + summer = perfect combination.

US Open Series started ... last week? or a week ago? Didn't cover Indianapolis, but did cover Legg Mason and now Rogers cup in Montreal. Greatest road trip in sports, I agree. Go Andy and Novak!!

NFL pre-season games are starting already -- wow! Theyre showing the colts game tonight I think. Dunno when the Pats play.

barry bonds ruins the night...and baseball

2007-08-05T12:17:00.000-05:00

so yesterday was a good day:
-it was cooler outside from the drizzle
-kelsey, sarah, and i had an excellent shopping trip
-A-ROD HIT HIS 500TH HR

and then it was all ruined with one swing of the bat as barry bonds tied hank aarons record of 755 career homeruns.

so let's get one thing straight here, we here at Wants Ya HATE barry bonds. Personally, I believe he is on steroids and it's very difficult not to after reading Game of Shadows by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams (which is a great book, btw). I also believe those two authors shouldn't have gone to jail for refusing to give up their sources (trust me that is a whole other rant). I've met them before at a book signing at a journalism conference two yrs ago and they were really nice guys. Helluva lot nicer than barry bonds comes off as being. so anyway, bonds hits hr #755, therefore ruining a-rods night and our night...and baseball in general. baseball is america's pasttime, it shouldn't have a hr leader with an asterisk by his name. aaron was not only a great player, but a great guy. bonds, yeah not so much. with the steroid scandal that is rocking the sport, mlb needs to try harder to get to the bottom of it. of course, it wouldnt be that hard if they just looked at the evidence. i hope they do truly figure out what he is doing and if he is, erase his name from the record books so players like hank aaron, who never we're tainted and played for the love of the game, can continue to have their true place in the history of the sport.

"Stay-Rod"

2007-07-23T15:05:00.000-05:00

Reports by the NY Post and NY Daily News confirmed that Alex Rodriguez has been looking at offers for a new, $25 million mansion/estate in Greenwich, Connecticut. He's also looking into a penthouse in Manhattan, which means that it's quite possible ARod is looking for an extension on his contract where he could become a free agent in November.

Get this: The mansion includes seven bedrooms, 17 bathrooms, nine fireplaces, a lap pool, a basketball court, a wine cellar, and a home theatre. It's a 9-acre lakefront property. Damn. Sounds very nice. Ah, how I miss Connecticut, and to think, I could still be living in a state where Alex Rodriguez might live, and where 50 Cent owns a home (and which I saw!!!!) that was previously owned by Audrey Hepburn and MIke Tyson. =) Man oh man. I hope he buys it! And stays with the Yanks, that'd be huge. Here's the link: http://www.nypost.com/seven/07232007/news/regionalnews/spending_his_a_wad_regionalnews_dan_mangan.htm

A Big Series

2007-07-22T13:53:00.000-05:00

I just had to update. When something this exciting (Yankees have thus far scored 41 runs in their 4-game series against the Devil Rays) happens, it's a must to update! The Yanks got killed 14-4 opening up their 4-game series. It was embarrassing. But that didn't stop them. Despite having 2 rookie pitchers pitching yesterday, the Yanks won both games: 7-3, 17-5, pounding out 20 hits in the second game. Godzilla hit two homers, one in each game. ARod hit his 497th homer. Shelley Duncan, just called up from AAA Friday, got his first major league hit on Friday, his first major league 2-run shot yesterday, and now a 3-run shot today. He's been playing in the minors for 6 years now and this is absolutely huge for the guy. He was so enthusiastic, smacking high-fives to everyone in the dugout with such ferocity, he almost injured them! I was watching Baseball Tonight last night and they showed when ARod got beamed with a pitch, right in the kidneys. He reacted like he got shot, clutching his side and bouncing around. He was alright though and they showed Jeter and Cano in the dugout mimicking him and laughing. It was HILARIOUS.

Anyway, the Yanks just broke out in the 4th inning. 13 batters went through the inning and we got 10 runs out of it. We had a bunch of singles, some walks, and a homer by Duncan. It's times like these that remind me why I stuck by the Yankees all season. Sure, it's against the Drays, but this could mean a 5th consecutive series win, and a huge boost for the Yanks.They need the offensive explosion, considering their pitching is not very good. Even Andy is giving up hits left and right, and looks like he wants to give up the 10-run lead right about now. Poor guy. He was so consistent in the first half, despite us losing games for him cuz our offense couldn't do anything. Bottom line is: I love the Yankees. =)

EDIT: Yankees take their 5th consecutive series, winning 21-4 today. What a complete embarrassment for the Devil Rays. The Yanks got 21 runs on 25 hits. Shelley Duncan homered twice today, and has received 3 curtain calls! ARod blasted #498, giving him 99 rbis. He's absolutely amazing. Robbie Cano hit #8 in the 8th, a 2-run shot. Matsui hit a solo shot wayyy back in the 2nd inning, for his 3rd consecutive game with a homer (9 homers in 17 games). Bobby Abreu added a solo shot of his own. Every starter in the game had at least 2 hits, minus Jorge. This was an unbelievable game and they finally showed just how much offensive power they have...they sent out a huge message to the Bosox. Wow I'm still in utter disbelief. The Yanks better keep this up because come Aug. 10, they'll be facing Cleveland, the Tigers, Boston, etc.

EDIT2: Just thought I'd add this in: Yankees had 62 hits, 49 runs, and 11 homers in this 4-game series. Amazing. Shelley Duncan has been warmly welcomed in New York, getting 3 curtain calls this weekend, and the crowd chanting his name.

Quick Update

2007-07-20T17:11:00.000-05:00

Joba Chamberlain is pitching tonight. He pitched in the All star game for minor leaguers and the Yankees are keeping an eye on him. He pitches for Trenton (AA team for the Yanks) who are playing the New Britain Rock Cats, adn I just found out, they're the AA team for the Twins! I think that's pretty funny considering I used to live in CT. I went to one of their games once, but it got rained out so I only got to see a little bit of it. I always wondered why the Twins were featured on the ticket. So Brian Cashman, GM for Yanks, is in New Britain today watching him pitch. He also conveniently lives in CT as well. Quite a small world. Anyway, hope Joba does well tonight against the Rock Cats! =)

Feeling the heat (literally)

2007-07-18T10:31:00.000-05:00

I just had to update again. I found out last night that Comcast is showing free previews of MLB Extra Innings so I had the chance to watch the Yankees game on YES network (wow, how i miss that station...it was available in Connecticut along with NESN--Boston Red Sox network). Anyway, it was a pitcher's duel to say the least. A-Rod had an RBI single in the first (90 rbis on the year..how amazing is that?) and Andy Pettite gave up a run early on too. Andy had a season-high 7 strikeouts. Along rolled the 8th inning and every Yankee fan's fear came true -- Kyle Farnsworth was coming in with a tie game. Game over. Gives up a single..throws to 1st to check the guy on base and throws it away. Then Aaron Hill hits an RBI double...Blue Jays 2 Yanks 1. He gets out of the inning, but to the sounds of 50,000+ fans booing him at Yankee stadium. In the 8th inning the Yanks have a chance, but of course with 2 outs Cano comes up, the guy who swings at everything. What do you think he did? Struck out. So it's the bottom of the 9th for the Yankees with Phillips, Cabrera, and Damon coming up -- not very comforting. But Andy Phillips, hero of the past two games, hits a lead-off single. Cairo comes in to pinch-run and steals second. Cabrera hits a grounder single into right field and Larry Bowa (3B coach) waves Cairo home---big mistake. Rios has an amazing arm in right field and Cairo gets out at home, but not without sliding head-first and hurting his collarbone. He's alright though, I think. Anyway, Cabrera went to 2nd on the throw and Damon draws a walk, but not before Cabrera steals 3rd --without the coaches telling him to or anything! The pitcher barely even knew Melky set off. Then dear old Jeremy Accardo balks and Cabrera comes home to tie the game! Then the 10th inning comes. ARod is up. Everyone is hoping he can blast #33 on the season and win the game, but no, he gets hit. He gets to 2nd on a wild pitch. Matsui JUST misses a 2 run homer and I mean by only a few feet. He strikes out and JOrge Posada is up..but he gets intentionally walked and then everyone's fears once again come true--Cano is up at the plate. The guy who swings at everything. What does he do? Swing at the first pitch, but wait---it's hit into the left field and the YANKEES WIN!!!!!!!

I just had to give the details--it was a great game. The Yanks played aggressively, and even though they missed out on good opportunities they fought back and that's what the team needs. If only we could find some good relievers. The only ones we, as fans, feel comfortable coming into the game after the starting pitcher is done are: Mariano Rivera or Luis Vizcaino (6-2). The Yanks are now 8-14 in one-run games. Let it be known that I believe we were 3-14 at one point in time. So tonight it's the Rocket man vs. Shaun Marcum. We'll see if he's still got his stuff tonight after a not-so great start against the DRays. =) Just another side note: the Kansas City Royals have won 7 of 11 games vs. the Red Sox and they did it again last night.

finally...

2007-07-17T16:14:00.000-05:00

so i'm finally back. i had many things i went through in my absence. 1, i got my wisdom teeth out. 2, my computer crashed and i had to turn it in to be re-imaged. 3, i was in montana for a wedding. but now i am back and there is much news which has happened.
-D Kurtis Foster signed to a 1 yr, $1.025mil deal
-Matt Foy, Erik Reitz, Aaron Voros, and Joel Ward re-signed
-G Anton Khudobin signed to an entry level contract
-G Josh Harding signed to a 2yr, $1.45mil contract
-D Nick Schultz takes the Wild to arbitration
-The Wild take W Derek Boogaard to arbitration
-D Sean Hill signed to a 1 yr, $475,000 contract; will sit out first 19 games of season due to a league suspension for steroids, he says he is not guilty
-W Pierre-Marc Bouchard signed to a 1 yr, $2.6mil contract
-C Eric Belanger signed to a 3 yr, $5.75mil contract
-C Wes Walz signed to a 1 yr, $900,000 contract
-G Nolan Schaefer signed to a 2 yr, $1.15mil contract

on other sports, the twins have been perfect since the all-star break, completing a 4game sweep over the A's. yay twins! we always seem to pull it out in the second halves. last yr we kicked ass in the second half, and passed detroit for the central division championship on the last day of the season. that was an amazing day. the twins won so we were tied with detroit for the division lead, proving it to be make or break time for detroit who was in the middle of the game when the twins finished. they played the royals, who actually won, giving the twins the championship. once the twins game was completed, the metrodome showed a live feed of the detroit game on the big screen. not only the players stayed on the bench to watch but so did many fans. the place exploded when the royals won. great day.
so hopefully the twins can pull it out again, which would be amazing, and they can make it to the playoffs. it looks tough right now though, with detroit and cleveland both looking strong and making a push. the key will be for the younger pitchers (and carlos silva...so pretty much anyone not named johan santana) to stabilize the pitching rotation and for the offense to produce every night, not just some, and against all pitchers, not failing against ones who arent even that good.

sooooo in closing, go twins!!!!

How 'bout them Yankees?

2007-07-15T16:33:00.001-05:00

Yanks took the series over the DRays...thank god. It would've been an absolute embarrassment to lose to a team that's lost 15 of its last 16 games. When we lost the game, it was cuz Clemens just was not pitching as well as he had the last 2 games. I mean I guess you can't really blame the guy who went 8 innings in his last two starts and only gave up a run I think. Jorge homered and Matsui did in that game though which was good. Matsui has been heating up lately...it's great. Something like 5 homers in his last 9 games. In yesterday's game Abreu drove in 5 runs...while the Yanks scored 6, thanks to a 430 ft blast by Matsui. Chien-Ming Wang was a little iffy at first..giving up 3 runs in the 1st I think it was. But then he retired like 17 of the last 18 batters and had 11 consecutive outs with 6 K's. In today's game it was a roller coaster to say the least. Mussina did not start off well...we were down 0-3, but came back to make it 4-3 thanks to a 10-pitch at bat by Cano leading to a single, then a TRIPLE by Phillips, then a DOUBLE by Nieves!!, and a 2 run blast by the Captain. Later on it was 7-6 yanks, afte Villone who has pitched almost flawlessly (0.00 ERA in 10.1 innings) gave up a 2 run shot. Yanks finally closed it out after an amazing DP by Phillips and a popup. NOw the Yanks go on to play the Blue Jays who won the series against the Bosox, but then the Bosox get to play the royals...UGH!

Anyway there's been tons of rumors floating around about ARod and where he's gonna get traded to...the biggest one? To the Red sox. Everyone thinks the REd Sox are gonna make him an offer..okay after that spent like 50 million to talk to a guy then however much to get him to play with them. Arod is gonna cost a lot, plus he just can't go to the Red Sox!!!! =( Okay well I guess this post is long enough/basically only about the Yanks.

Long time, no see.

2007-07-09T15:38:00.000-05:00

Talk about not updating in awhile. I suppose Elise does have a legitimate excuse: no computer, but I on the other hand, have been too busy being involved in baseball games and Wimbledon. Needless to say the Yanks are 1 game below .500 heading into the All-star break, but not after a refreshing 12-0 rout of the Yank Killers, the Angels. Let's just say I was super excited to see the Yanks win, especially after a devastating 1-2 loss in 13 innings on Saturday. But they took the series (1st game won 14-9). Cano has been heating up which is really good...he was a .343 hitter last year and has had a few homers in his last few games. Melky I've always loved, but he's been in a little slump recently, but apparently loves being in clutch situations like bases loaded. ARod hit his 30th homerun of the year yesterday; congrats to him, he already has 86 rbis on the year! Luckily he's playing in the All-star Game tomorrow night!! &homerun derby is tonight...no really good players I'm dying to see, but it'll still be good.

Wimbledon was good....but then it just got really sour towards the end. Federer/Nadal...who would've guessed it?! Nadal could've won, but he injured his knee in the 4th set...luckily he was ahead tho like 4-1 or something at the time. Federer got a free pass into the semis after Haas withdrew and Andy lost a horrific 5-setter against Richard Gasquet in the Quarters. He should've won, but he just completely collapsed...like everyone's been saying...that is gonna haunt him for awhile. Novak played 9.5 hours of tennis in just two days, then went on to retire against Nadal in the semis. I thought he could've beaten Nadal, but I hope he gets better in time for some of the US Open series championships!

I'll be back with an update of the All-Star Game on either Wednesday or Thursday.

Where are all the hot lax guys?

2007-06-22T21:31:00.000-05:00

Sarah made us cookies today and they were sooooo yummy! Thanks Sarah, you're the best. We got to eat the batter too, yay! So Elise and I discovered our new sport: lacrosse. OK, apparently there are not too many hotties on the Major League Lacrosse teams....well, at least on Rochester team, but we discovered Drew Westervelt who is cuteeee! And Zachary Jungers (haha). So yay for them, and we discovered one of those quirky cute guys on the Swarm; Sean Pollock!! So we have to find out how exactly to play lax..but that won't take long.

NHL Draft:
So we got Colton Gillies who is a real cutie! Hope he plays next year ;) Haha, but we don't know that for sure. We missed out on another cutie; Angelo Espositos, who we should've drafted, but oh well. And Thomas Hickey is sooo cute! But he's with someone else, who really cares. Elise is very upset we didn't gget Ryan McDonagh and she's mentioned it about 50 times since um like 7:00, it's very annoying, but shhhhhhh.

Right now Sarah is asleep, it's really funny. I gotta take this girl home, that'll be fun. We went to this beach party on Manitou Island. There was a parade earlier and thse guys on a firetruck were squirting people with water from their super soakers. Elise had the genius idea of standing behind these people who had a baby and apparently they won't squirt near babies; NOT!!! These kids across the street threw water balloons at them and we got wet! UGH! Then these loser people took all the beach balls which wasn't cool at all. So later at the beach party there were no cute guys...These White Bear Lake-ians need to step it up. OK well there is nothing else to say so Sarah and I might leave soon and stop at DQ and leave poor Elise all alone. We'll be updating soon, especially with news on WIMBLEDON!!!!! which starts this Monday; so excited! And Andy on English tv is freaking hilarious, love that guy.

Well, much love guys!

assault charges against boogaard dropped!

2007-06-18T21:04:00.000-05:00

the assault charges put against derek boogaard were dropped. he was being charged with assault causing bodily harm after a nightclub fight last august. some new facts surfaced casting doubt on a conviction and they decided to drop it. woohoo.

here's a link to a fully story: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/hockey/nhl/06/18/bc.hkn.wild.boogaardarr.ap/index.html

Story Part Trois

2007-06-17T13:42:00.000-05:00

So even though I'm in a bad mood, have a terrible sunburn, and am very tired, I am bringing you the next part of the story. Even though I'm not feeling creative or in the mood, I am finally going to post it after how many weeks of procrastination and almost 0 help from my friends ;).

Elise, Kelsey, and Joe arrived at the Annual Ping Pong Tournament in St. Paul in 10 minutes flat, racing by a police cruiser, who didn't have time to react. There was already a huge crowd surrounding the poster with the teams who would play each other that day. Veilleux and Bouchard spotted Kelsey and Elise being escorted towards the door by the towering, 6'5" Joe Mauer. "Oh, remercier dieu!" PMB exclaimed (*translation, oh thank god!*) Veilleux rushed forward and gave Elise and Kelsey big hugs. "You and Elise are playing Roger Federer first, and PMB and I have to play Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter!" Veilleux said to Kelsey. "Roger Federer? Are you kidding me? What an arrogant, no-good, tennis trophy stealing little..." Elise exclaimed, in obvious hate of Federer. He walked by just then, wearing his sweat band that pushed back his curly brown hair that had begun to grow past his shoulders. A pungent odor filled the air as he passed, a result of him staying in his hotel room ever since he lost to Rafael Nadal in the French Open.

Kelsey and Elise changed into their outfits in the locker room, because it was necessary everyone have some kind of outfit to wear, one unique aspect of the tournament. When they got out, they saw Justin Morneau decked out in an outfit of his own. He looked normal enough until you realized he was wearing a sweat band around his head, and wrist bands, with his hat pulled backwards. Joe Mauer was wearing a similar outfit. Kelsey and Elise also saw Chris Pronger and Brad May arguing at the sign-up desks. "But we want to play in the tournament. This is complete discrimination! I bashed a guy's head into the ground and was only suspended for one game, and you're telling me our "looks" are not allowed in this tournament?!" Brad May yelled, spittle flying out his mouth that only had a few teeth left in it. Chris Pronger looked about ready to elbow the young, innocent, freckled boy who was not allowing them in. Right about then, however, Boogaard entered the room and looked menacingly over at May and Pronger. He grabbed them both by the scruffs of their necks and they both started crying like babies while Boogaard took care of them.

The tournament began at 4:00 sharp. Sarah and Dominic had to play Justin and Joe, but Sarah was so distracted by Dominic's good looks, she completely missed every ball hit to her. Dominic grew angry because he had set out a plan on how to win the tournament, with help from some of his Harvard buddies, but then he forgave her. Justin and Joe were happy they won. Veilleux and Bouchard crushed Jorge and Derek because they thought it was just like baseball and hit every ball like it was the homerun derby. Elise and Kelsey also crushed their egotistical opponent, Roger Federer, who exclaimed "I'm the best!" at every single shot he hit. Jason and Josh Rabe were very helpful, encouraging them at every shot. Novak, though distracting with his good looks, was very encouraging as well. I mean, he is a personal cheerleader for a reason... The next round was Joe and Justin vs. Veilleux and Bouchard. Elise and Kelsey watched and cheered for both teams. At one point in the game, Veilleux called out for the ball, but he missed, "Hehe, just kidding!!" He exclaimed afterwards.

2 hours later, it was down to Veilleux and Bouchard vs. Kelsey and Elise. "Oh, I don't want them to lose!" Bouchard said to Veilleux during their break. "Ah, I have a plan. We will purposely play badly so they can win!" "Wow you're tres intelligent, Stephane!" Bouchard said. So they put their plan into action and Kelsey and Elise defeated them in only 15 minutes.
"Oh my gosh! YOU WON!!! Hhehe" Novak yelled, after Elise smashed the winning point down the middle. Novak threw off his shirt and danced around. "They will surviveee!" He yelled, singing his favorite song. Joe and Justin were ecstatic and even Sarah and Dominic were happy. Chris Pronger and Brad May were also in the crowd, and refused to clap, but Boogaard knocked their heads together, and they had to comply. "We have to celebrate!" Josh Rabe said, so they all headed off to Pazza Luna.

Meanwhile, at the mansion........

Keith and Brent were busy in the barn. Keith was looking for food for Brent's pony and Brent was busy running around the barn. "I love ponies!" he squealed. Keith finally spotted the feed and began to look for Brent who had disappeared. "You can't find me!!! I'm too sneaky for you!" Brent yelled. Of course Keith was used to playing hide-and-seek with his 4 kids, so he found Brent sitting in the stall where his pony was. "Ok Brent. We need to feed your pony since it hasn't been fed in three days. You foolish child!" Brent nodded enthusiastically. Keith handed him some food and Brent tried giving it to his pony. "Oh my god, he's not breathing, Keith!! WHAT DO I DO?!?!?" "You idiot, you're SITTING on him!" Keith exclaimed, rolling his eyes. Brent got up and his pony took in a huge breath. Andy and Mikko, who got back from playing tennis, walked into the barn. "What's going on here?!" Andy asked. "I'm feeding my pony" Brent smiled. He went back to feeding his pony, with keith keeping a watchful eye over him.

To be continued...

lots of things

2007-06-16T12:30:00.000-05:00

well i'm finally home...woohoo
so lots of stuff happened last week when i was gone including three major things:
1: the announcement of the All NHL first, second, and rookie teams
2: the awards ceremony
3: the wild signed a defenseman

1: the nhl announced their teams....the first and second team didnt have too much of an interest to me since i didnt particularily like any of the players. howeverrrr the all-rookie team was awesome especially since san jose's carle and vlasic were on it! congrats to them!

2: the awards ceremony was the other day. most things were to be expected. brindamour won the selke again, crosby won like everything including MVP. he was the youngest player ever to win MVP behind wayne gretzky. he was also named youngest captain ever to an nhl team when he was named penguins captain for next season a few weeks ago. also congrats to saku koivu on his award also. you can find a full list of awards winners @ nhl.com

3: the wild signed defenseman andre lakos. here's the press release from wild.com:

Minnesota Wild President and General Manager Doug Risebrough today announced the National Hockey League club has signed defenseman Andre Lakos (pronounced AWN-dray LA-kaws) to a 2007-08 contract.
“Andre has been a top performer at the international level the last two seasons,” said Tom Lynn, Assistant General Manager/ Hockey Operations. “We have seen his game mature, and feel he is ready to re-establish himself in North America.”
Lakos, 27 (7/29/79), notched 44 points (16-28=44), 125 penalty minutes (PIM) and a +27 rating in 52 games with EC Salzburg of the Austrian League this season. He led team defensemen and ranked sixth on the team in scoring and finished second on the club in PIM as Salzburg claimed the 2006-07 League championship. The Vienna, Austria-native has played with former Wild center Darby Hendrickson in Salzburg the past two seasons. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound defenseman has represented Austria at the World Championships the past six years and eight of the last nine overall (1999-00, 2002-07). Lakos recorded three goals and an assist in six games at the 2007 World Championships in Moscow. He also appeared in four games for Austria at the 2002 Olympics. Lakos was originally selected by the New Jersey Devils in the third round (95th overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.

speaking of which, wild.com also re-designed and i, personally, am quite a fan of it.

coutndowns! (including today) -
countdown to nhl entry draft: 7 days (june 22)
countdown to free-agency (todd white, martin skoula, wes walz): 16 days (july 1)

sooo that's all for now......elise

Life is good

2007-06-10T15:55:00.000-05:00

I'll be taking over the blog for this week while Elise is at tennis camp, but don't expect many updates. I'll be busy working from 8-5 all week, but I'll update if anything exciting happens.

Right now, Life is good if your name is Rafael Nadal, or any one of the Yankees. Nadal won the french open, congrats to him. I for sure thought Fed was coming back after he won the 2nd set, but Nadal decided that wasn't going to happen. His record at Roland Garros? 21-0! That's crazy. It's hard to believe he's only 21 years old and he's #2 in the world. Wimbledon Countdown: 15 days.

If you're a Yankee, well, life is getting better. 1 game below .500, just won 6 straight and swept the Pirates. Abreu reached base 5 times today, had a triple and a double, and went 4 for 4 with 1 walk. If you didn't know, Abreu was in a pretty bad slump-- wasn't seeing the ball, was swinging at bad pitches, etc. ARod hit 2 homers today and he's back with the homers!!! #23 and #24 were hit today, giving him 63 rbis this year. Tyler, my poooor baby, only lasted 3 2/3 innings after giving up a 5-2 lead. It's okay though, the offense pulled through and got us a huge win. Yanks play the D-Backs next. The only annoying thing about this all is that the Red Sox don't want to lose either, so yankees can't gain much ground, but at least we can try for a wild card.

The Twins have been less than hot lately. They really don't want to get swept by the Nats. It's bottom 8th, 6-3 twins, so let's hope they pull this out. Mauer came back the other day, but he's not in today. Jason drove in two runs :) Maybe they'll have another all-star break turnaround.

Anyway, that's about it, I think? Write another time!

BACKSTROM RE-SIGNED and off-season stuff

2007-06-08T11:11:00.000-05:00

NIK BACKSTROM HAS BEEN RE-SIGNED BY THE WILD!!!
they re-signed him for 2 yrs at $3.1 mil per yr (total $6.2mil). there is also a limited trade clause in his contract meaning he cannot be traded next season or for a certain time the season after also. this enabled him so if the wild cannot trade manny they cant turn around and trade backstrom.
speaking of manny...he's pretty much gone. risebrough has said there's a possibility of 2 starters again this upcoming year but he's shopping fernandez. some possible teams? tampa and phoenix are top two. it also depends whether j.s. giguere re-signs in anaheim because then manny would probably be the top goaltender out there.

soooo it's the off-season which is my least favorite time of the yr. so here's the off-season roster stuff, courtesy of michael russo, strib beat writer.

Restricted free agents: Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Mikko Koivu, Nick Schultz, Kurtis Foster, LW Derek Boogaard, Adam Hall, Josh Harding, Matt Foy, Erik Reitz, Joel Ward

Unrestricted free agents: Todd White, Wes Walz, D Martin Skoula, Wyatt Smith

White has said he wants to re-sign with the wild however is open to free agency and would like to play back near his hometown for the stanley cup runner-ups, the ottawa senators. WE NEED TO RE-SIGN WALZ. he has been a rock for this team. we need him.

the up side?

2007-06-07T18:59:00.000-05:00

going off of kelseys, it sucks that chris pronger won the stanley cup. he's a cheap ass dirty player and the nhl went easy on him with the suspensions. seriously he does practically the same hit on dean mcammond as he did the series before and he only gets 1 game suspension. mcammond was KNOCKED OUT and did not play in last night's game. okay on to the good side of things...there are two reasons i havent written a letter of complaint to...well, someone:

1) at least the wild lost to the eventual winners...
2) i'm actually extremely happy for ryan getzlaf and sean o'donnell and teemu selanne to win the cup.

i LOVE teemu selanne. he is an amazing player who has been through some really hard times in the nhl. he's such a nice guy (obviously i havent met him, just through interviews and journalistic p.o.v.s) and this was his first not only stanley cup, but stanley cup final. after he got to hold the cup last night he did an interview with pierre mcquire and he was crying and sooo happy and was with his family and it was so cute. pretty much he's a great guy and CONGRATS to him because he is amazing and deserves it soooo much!

ryan getzlaf i just love in general so yay for him too!

sean o'donnell used to play for the wild when we first started out and he's pretty much awesome...so he's really cool too!!!

but i still despise chris pronger and brad may.

2007-06-06T21:33:00.000-05:00

I think the Anaheim Ducks are the worst Stanley Cup Champions, by far.
Well, at least that's my opinion. They played dirty every series.
The only good thing? Teemu Selanne wins it as well, heh, right Elise? ;)

Ahh...The life of a Yankee Fan

2007-06-06T09:44:00.000-05:00

It's June, only a few months into baseball season and it's already been a rollercoaster for the Yankees. Poor Dougy is gonna be out for awhile, but we have Josh Phelps, Miguel Cairo (who will probably play once a week), Andy Phillips (possibly), and maybe even Johnny Damon playing 1st base. Andy Phillips was called up from the minors and Johnny Damon has even been practicing, but I'm sure he's more of an emergency 1st baseman. Anyway, thanks to Startribune for printing that 3,980,000 households watched the Yankees' comeback win on Sunday night :) Many New York fans were probably ecstatic and many Red Sox fans were probably very angry. That game went on till almost 1230 AM on the East Coast, now there are some dedicated baseball fans! In case you didn't know, Yankees rallied back to 5-5, then it's the top of the 9th, ARod is up, there are 2 outs, count is 0-2, and Papelbon, a very good pitcher, throws a 95 mph pitch to him and Arod smacks it over into the Red Sox bullpen!(or dugout? idk). It was greattt! He silenced Fenway for sure, seeing how they were making fun of him all weekend! Tyler Clippard pitched against the Chisox last night and did very well :) 5 hits, 1 run, 4 strikeouts, 3 batters walked. Yanks got 11 hits off Mark Buherle (?) who has done very badly since his no-hitter (was that a complete game?) awhile ago. In total the Yankees had 17 HITS!!! A hit from every player and the top of the lineup had six of those runs :) Red Sox lost too, shutout 2-0 and grounded into 5 doubleplays with Matuszaka pitching, so that made me happy! Twins have lost to the Angels now, at least it wasn't 16-3 again....But the Angels are really good anyway so...whatever hahah.

Novak won and is in his first semi-final grand slam!! Yay! Everyone loves him. All the sports writers who interview him say he has a great personality on and off the court. According to the commentator on the French Open site, they have the players do karoke on french tv and Novak did I will Survive and I heard that Nadal did La Bamba and it was really funny. Aw Novak is great. He was also joking around with one of the cameramen before his match too. Dear, could he sound any more perfect?! No, I think not. But he'll probably have to face Rafa next, which won't be fun, seeing how Nadal is the king of clay. But let's hope for the best :)

Ducks going for the Stanley Cup tonight. Screw them. The only positive coming out of this is that the Wild won't feel bad knowing they lost to the team that won the cup. Well, Elise, only a few more months until Hockey season again, you should be happy, lol. I think that's it for me, the story part trois will be coming soon, don't worry...

NHL Draft Preview - elise style

2007-06-05T16:51:00.000-05:00

The NHL entry draft is coming up soon!! It's taking place this yr on june 22-23 in columbussss. so heres an overview of how i'm going to do my draft preview: random players i like in the top 15 and the minnesotans in the top 50.

Q: Why do I like the players I'm going to talk about?
A: No idea. I take likings to random ppl (see the jj hardy post) and these 5 i have taken a liking to just because of their personalities or whatever

The wild have the 19th overall pick in the draft. Top 19th picks of the past include my love, ryan getzlaf ('03) and super keith tkachuk ('90). the sharks dont get a pick in the first round because they traded it to montreal (would have been 23 if they had it).

elise's favorites in the top 15:

- Patrick Kane:
From: Buffalo, NY
Draft Ranking: 1
Scout Prediction: Offensive Forward
Kane is really good and player in the WJC (World Junior Championship). There's also a funny picture of him in a sombrero in The Hockey News.

- Kyle Turris:
From: New Westminster, BC
Draft Ranking: 3
Scout Prediction: Offensive Forward
Like this kid. He's drawn comparisons to Joe Sakic and Dany Heatley. According to scouts he needs to bulk up (6 ft, 170 lbs) and he is playing next yr for the University of Wisconsin.

-Sam Gagner
From: Oakville, Ont.
Draft Ranking: 6
Scout Prediction: Playmaking Forward
Gagner, compared to Zach Parise, is the son of former NHL player Dave Gagner who played for 15 seasons. Sam played for Canada in the WJC and, according to one scout, said he had one of the highest hockey I.Q.s in the draft.

-Karl Alzner:
From: Burnaby, BC
Draft Ranking: 8
Scout Prediction: Defensive Defenseman
Alzner is apparently very reliable defenseman who played in the WJC. At 6'2'' and 206 lbs, he also has the size.

- Keaton Ellerby:
From: Okotoks, Alta.
Draft Ranking: 11
Scout Prediction: Two-way Defenseman
This is my favorite person in the draft. His dad, Cal, played in the WHL and he is cousins to none other than Team Canada captain, Shane Doan. He has been compared to Jay Bouwmeester and Mike Rathje however there is questions about his mental approach. He has the size (6'4'', 186 lbs) and won the hardest shot at the CHL (Canadian Hockey League) prospects game.

minnesotans:

- Jim O'Brien:
From: Maplewood
Draft Ranking: 25
O'Brien came to the U of M as a young freshman at only the age of 17. He had very little ice time which led to iffy stats.

- Mike Hoeffel:
From: North Oaks
Draft Ranking: 27
Played for the USA NTDP (National Team Development Program) and will be playing for the U of M in the fall.

- Ryan McDonagh:
From: Arden Hills
Draft Ranking: 30
McDonagh played for Cretin-Derham Hall and won the prestigous Mr. Hockey award. He will play for the University of Wisconsin in the fall.

- Nick Larson:
From: Stillwater
Draft Ranking: 47
Larson played for Hill Murray High School and will play for the U of M in the fall.

So there is my draft preview. My way the draft would come out? The wild would get Keaton Ellerby with the 19th pick. of course, with the nfl draft obviously it did not come out my way. i personally wanted brady quinn for the vikes but they took adrian peterson...not that hes bad i just love brady quinn.

Thanks to The Hockey News for the information on the players :)

Yankees vs. Red Sox -- Game 2

2007-06-03T09:45:00.001-05:00

So the Yankees lost, but it was so unfair. We played catch-up a few times. Jorge got us up after hitting a great 3 run homerun. Melky hit a homer. Jeter hit a homer over the green monster. But then the 7th inning rolled around, and nothing good came out of it. Jeter was charged with 2 errors, 1 of which shouldn't have counted.... So there was a potential double-play ball, we get th e person out at 2nd, throws it to 1st for Dougy, and Mike Lowell literally mows him over and Dougy is lying flat on the ground not moving :( Omg i was so scared!! And the ball bounced away from Dougy, but he couldn't get up and get it, so what does mike lowell do? He keeps running to 2nd. Manny scores so it's 7-6, and apparently "Mike Lowell looked on with concern at 2nd" Oh PUHLEASE! If it was a Yankee and they ran over a Bosox 1st basemen, they wouldn't have kept running, they probably would have stopped at 1st and run over to see if they were ok considering HE WASN'T FRICKING MOVING!! I hate Mike Lowell so much after that! Poor Dougy looked so out of it when they helped him up and were trying to see if he was okay. He got carted off to the hospital :( He suffered a mild concussion, cervical sprain, and has a fractured bone in his wrist :( Apparently the crowd gave him a standing ovation after he got up, but that's only because he was with the Red Sox, especially in the '04 season. But also, during the next play, there was a grounder to Jeter, which would've been easily playable with 2 outs, but NO Mike Lowell is standing RIGHT IN FRONT OF JETER WHEN THE BALL WAS HIT!!! So as soon as the ball is really close to Lowell he starts running and Jeter bobbles the ball and couldn't get it! It was ridiculous! And apparently earlier in the game Lowell tried to break up a double-play! It didn't work though. He plowed into Cano too. OK and everyone talks about Arod making the shout, and all this other stuff, but Lowell did 3 bad things in ONE GAME! I'm just so mad.

Anyway, off the topic of baseballl....
Novak won yesterday :) Very tough, 4-hour match against a good 129th seeded Frenchie--Olivier Patience. Of course Novak was modest in saying that he was happy he won, but Patience played better. 7-6, 2-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3. Good Job Novak! :)

Senators won last night!!!!!! Let me just say, Ottawa fans are CRAAAAZY! They love their team so much. They were partying all before the game. The crowd was basically all red & white. They were confident their team could win and they weren't outta the race yet. And they proved it. I heard Emery was terrible at the beginning. Ducks were up 3-2 when I was checking it. But the Sens came back and won 5-3. :) I really like Volchenkov haha he was really happy when he scored...twice. There was a controversial goal with Alfredsson possibly kicking it in, but ohh well they got it. And PRONGER DEFLECTED A GOAL INTO HIS OWN NET HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA. LOOOOOOSER!!! I hope he gets suspended because he elbowed ANOTHER guy in the face. Jesus, he needs to stop it! What an idiot. The guy he elbowed left the game with a head injury. what an ass, that pronger is. grrr. let's hope the Sens tie it up tonight!!

The Epic Red Sox vs. Yankees Series

2007-06-02T10:56:00.000-05:00

OK very heated Red Sox / Yankees game last night. let me review it:

Jorge Posada is like my favorite guy ever. Bases-clearing double in the 4th inning. Cano hit a 2-run homer. Yankees just pounded the Red Sox. Torre got ejected for arguing with the umpire about Bobby Abreu caught stealing, when he clearly looked safe (at least to me). I mean, yes they WERE leading 9-3, but it was only the 5th and the Yankees knewww the red sox could come back. In case you didn't see the Boston Massacre last year, you'd know how high-scoring the games could go, for instance: the 14-10 game. Anyway, Torre was probably also arguing about how small the Yankee's strike zone was in comparison to the Red Sox. Chien-Ming Wang was not pitching his best last night, but after the Yankees' 6-run fourth he definitely improved, so yay for him. Also, ARod got mocked about "being seen with a blonde woman" when the Red Sox fans decided to wear masks like the ones in that cheerleader robbing movie, whatever that was called, sugar and spice or something? And they yelled "Got it!" after his yelling at the Blue Jays to miss a pop-up. But whatever, he reached base 3 times and got some hits, so they were pretty silent when they realized their team was gonna lose. The Yankees had three batters hit by three different pitchers [phelps, cano, and arod], but Proctor has one out-of-control pitch near Youkilis, the lumberjack [man i love that!], and Proctor is thrown out! It didn't look very intentional, and I don't think Proctor would throw it near somebody's head, that's dangerous. When he does do an intential crazy pitch, it usually is near the person's arm OR behind them, near their back. Besides, it'd be ridiculous to get revenge in the 9th inning, with I think1 out left to record, and your team is up 9-3. Youkilis, the big baby he is, started crying [ok or yelling] about it while Posada held him off. Scott Proctor was swearing his head off, even at Torre saying it wasn't intentional at all. The REd Sox need to cool it. They're a bunch of losers anyway. And I found out I can't really hate Big Papi anymore. I guess he's a really nice guy, according to some Yankee fans. He'll talk to the kids before the games start and he's friends with some Yankees, but apparently Manny is an asshole, and I will completely agree!! :)

Anyway, that's enough of me ranting about the game. I'm just happy the Yankees won! :) Let's see how Mussina does today, and our offense.

Story Part Deux.

2007-05-30T16:33:00.001-05:00

I've decided that writing these stories gives me motivation to study (no, not really, just a way of procrastinating), so here's the continuation of yesterday's story.

After an intense party, of which the details cannot be revealed because this is a public journal, Brent checked the time and realized it was 3:00 PM already! "OH my god! I missed my nap time. This is bad. And I need to eat my pahsta." Brent is one of those people who needs to have order in his day (yes this is surprising), and missing his nap and pahsta bowl makes him cranky. While the crowd dispersed, Elise remembered that her and kelsey promised PMB and Stephane that they would go to the Annual Ping Pong Tournament in St. Paul at 3:30. "Oh Shit!" kelsey exclaimed. "We totally forgot!" Elise yelled. Joe M had a questioning look on his face. "What's going on, ladies?" He said while checking out his sexy sideburns in his mirror. "We have to get to a pingpong tournament, and FAST!" Elise explained. "NO Problem. Let's just hop on my motorcycle and we'll bizzounce outta here" Joe said. Jason started cracking up at that moment. "Hey, holmes, you can't pull it off" Joe snapped back, "I'm one of the most eligible bachelors!" The two continued bickering until Justin came over and separated them. He's one of those happy, "let's sing a song" people.

A motorcycle roared in the distance and finally came to a stop in front of the ... well, mansion. Novak bounced off of it, while humming "rollin' on the river" to himself. "That was AWESOME!!" Novak exclaimed with excitement, then giggled to himself. Joe yelled at him for taking his motorcycle again. "You're just a kid! You could seriously do damage to it!" Kelsey said, "Wait. isn't it like illegal to have 3 people on a motorcycle?" Joe replied, "Of course, but who cares? my good looks will get us anywhere!" Novak laughed and threw off his shirt. "Psh, good looks." He muttered. **Please note, Novak Djokovic likes to take off his shirt for some reason, but let's not stop him** Elise, Kelsey, and Joe hopped onto his motorcycle and took off for the Annual Pingpong Tournament, and hoped they wouldn't disappoint PMB or Veilleux.

To Be Continued...

how we study for exams...

2007-05-29T20:18:00.001-05:00

sooo teachers always say one way to remember information is to make connections, songs, similes, etc. i realized how distracted kelsey was when she started telling me how pretty green m&ms were...well kelsey and i have taken this lovely advice to study for our history exam...you can all learn from this -

problem info: the soviet union
solution: simile

the soviet union is like the anaheim ducks. they're both annoying, mean, play dirty, and refuse to go away. the soviet union eventually collapsed because of economic hardships and this is what will happen to the ducks. once they lose in the stanley cup finals to the sens, ryan getzlaf and teemu selanne (the only reason ppl come to watch the ducks) will leave, therefore they will have no more fans and therefore no more money.

kelsey and i really enjoyed that simile....were definately going to get a A++++ on this exam.

A story...or just procrastination

2007-05-29T16:49:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time in a huge mansion overlooking one of the 10,000 lakes in Minnesota, Kelsey and Elise woke up after a long night of partying. Kelsey yawned, looked over, and saw Elise in the other huge bed in their HUGE room. "Hi Elise!" Kelsey said. Elise just nodded and went back to sleep again. Kelsey shrugged and got up. Of course she looked absolutely beautiful after a long night's sleep of only 5 hours. She wandered downstairs, of course that took 5 min cuz the house is so big, and arrived in the kitchen.

Andy was up already, after a 2- hour workout, as well as Mikko, Brent, Jason B, Justin M, Joe M, and Derek B. they were the ones who stayed over. Mikko was at the counter, eating his milk and cheerios, while Brent played with his fruit loops. Jason B, Justin M, and Joe M were all playing video games like silly little boys. Joe M, of course, was winning at MLB 07. Andy was all sweaty and good-looking, as usual, and was drinking his orange juice. Derek B brought over his cute dog, and asked where Elise was. I said she was still sleeping and he laughed. He went upstairs...and didn't come back for awhile.

Andy sat down on the couch in the living room which was right next to the kitchen. He was crying. Kelsey went over and tried to comfort him. "Why did I lose? I don't understand. I'm the best looking guy in the tennis world, and I have to lose in the 1st round of the French Open. I hate the French!" Kelsey nodded in agreement. Mikko piped in, "The French are losers. For sure. Finland is better." JAson B, who was getting in the video games a little too much, said "YEAH! Finland Rocks! I hate the french too" Brent, who was studying a green fruit loop, said "The French? I thought they didn't exist anymore" Everyone groaned. They were used to Brent's silly comments. Justin M said to him, "Brent. You need to go feed your pony. It's starving and hasn't been fed in days." Keith walked in at that moment and glared at Brent like a father who is angered when a child hasn't done something right. Brent, shoulders hunched over, shuffled out of the room in defeat.

Elise wandered down the stairs at that moment and the room got excited. Once Kelsey and Elise were in the room together, everyone was very happy. Andy said, "Can we have another party? I need to get my mind off my loss..." So the day started over again, in the very happy house of Elise and Kelsey. The end.

le french open est stupide.

2007-05-29T15:44:00.000-05:00

I'M GONNA BALL MY EYES OUT!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU ANDYYYYYYY :( my poor babyyyyy. outta the french open in the 1st round. fuck you andreev, you ugly loser. you're gonna lose next round anyway!!!! aghhhhhh. and james blake is out too! good news: hewitt and gasquet won :) and nadal. but ill only root for him if its rafa vs. federer in the final. novak's match was suspended but he's up by 2 sets! :) godddd. i love you andy. this is dedicated to you:

Where is the moment we needed the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
You tell me your blue skies fade to grey
You tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces everytime
And I don't need no carryin' on

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day 
You had a bad day

Part of "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter, because clearly that is what he had. :( oh boy. how can i ever study now?  in honor of those frenchies, JE DETESTE LE ROLAND GARROS!!
!

oh and sens lost yesterday but thats cuz the ducks are clearly cheatersss ummm and red sox are losers. k bye!!!!!!!!!!

<3, well not so much love...kelsey dont be surprised if i dont update bcuz ill clearly be in a state of depression...good thing i bought those chocolate bars over the weekend....

recappp

2007-05-28T11:26:00.000-05:00

so elise here with a recap of...well...stuff:
marco andretti placed second last year at the indy 500 in the closest finish in indy history (.0635 seconds) behind Sam Hornish Jr.

-indy 500 yesterday. i find it fairly boring. who wants to watch a bunch of cars go around in a circle a bunch of times? even that was rain-delayed for 3 hrs. eventually some guy won named dario or sumthin but i've found to taking a random liking to marco andretti. i take random likings to random ppl a lot and im not sure why...but he's 20 yrs old and ppart of the andretti racing family and just overall pretty cool. he led for a bit before the rain delay but unfortunately after it he crashed. but luckily he's okay.

-french open start yesterday! unfortunately most of it was rained out...

-stanley cup finals tonight!!!!!!! you should probably watch it since it's going to be amazing and the last time the sens won a cup was like, 1928

-i've also taken a liking to jj hardy. he's the 24 yr old shortstop for the milwaukee brewers. he was on the best damn sports show period the other night with prince fielder and he's had a crazy breakout yr. he seems pretty down to earth tho. his fav place to vacation is montana...i mean come on, what pro athlete's fav place to vacation is montana? thats a first.

soooo thats it for now but since its exam week and i SHOULD be studying, i'll probably post another blog later or something. who knows.

-elise

letters - doug risebrough and jorge posada

2007-05-27T18:02:00.000-05:00

so kelsey and i have a tradition of writing fake letters to people so here is our first of many future entries of our letters (which are never sent of course)

elise in green, kelsey in blue (written over msn messanger)

dear doug risebrough
you know you should sign only hot guys, who are really really good at hockey and resign the entire team from last yr...of course, todd white can always become a tooth model. he has enough money anyway. so that would include ryan getzlaf and matt carle. and ryan can leave his girlfriend back in california...and matty too if he has one. which he probably does, because who can resist him. of course. but once he comes to minnesota, obviously he'll be with us in our huge house andy bought us. so, dougy, make good descisions. be a good boy and have a nice day. love elise and kelsey

dear jorge posada,
congrats on winning kelsey and elise's cutest kid in the entire world award. we both decided your son, jorge luis, is possibly the cutest child alive, especially with his ears, which he obviously inherited from you. we just wanted to let you know about this great honor and also offer you our babysitting services. we're sure you can pay for our flight out to ny to babysit, and while we're there you can always throw in some front row yanks tix. thanks buddy. love kelsey and elise

what's in a name?

2007-05-27T18:01:00.000-05:00

background of how we came up with the blog name "Wants Ya":

W- wild
A- andy roddick
N- novak djokovic
T- twins
S- sharks

Y- yankees
A- andy murray

rants - elise style

2007-05-27T10:55:00.000-05:00

-sooo agree with kelsey: yay for the french open and andy, andy, and novak!!!

-stanley cup final starts on monday...this is going to be a HUGE matchup and even though i dont particularily like either team the games are going to be awesome...oh and ray emery is prettyyy cool.

-the era of Batgirl (bat-girl.com) has officially come to an end. very depressing, im not sure i can handle it.

-so impressive comeback by the twins last night but unfortunately lost it in the 13th inning whihc sucks...they need to release ramon ortiz. i respect that his first few starts for us were very good, but now he's falling apart and our bullpen already has enough strain on it with perkins and reyes out, they can only handle so much and our offense kidna sucks sometimes already so having to provide a comeback isnt exactly fun. it's time for the twins to go the opposite way they usually do with veterans and bring up the kids. brad radke i can understand last yr: he had played his entire yr with the twins AND he was still pitching well even though his shoulder was killing him. but we did it with ponson and now we have to do it to ortiz. garza and slowley are ready to pitch in the big times. garza proved that last yr and we cant let them sit down in AAA forever. it's better to bring them up now and that's what the twins need to do.

-so exams are this week...goody. but at least it means summer is close

-kelsey sarah and i are planning on taking some trips to twins games this summer to see our loves, that will be amazing and will equal some quality pictures and adventures

-has anyone ever noticed that hotdogs just taste so much better at baseball games? seriously, everyone always says it but im convinced its true

countdown to hockey season: so training camp/pre-season is usually in september and then the real season starts in early october. since im counting training camp as hockey season, we have aboutttt 3 months left. yay! and the draft is june 22-23 in columbus...wild have the 19th pick

Rants

2007-05-27T09:47:00.001-05:00

I figured I would post a lovely picture of Andy Roddick up here in honor of the French Open starting today :]. It's running from 11-4 today, and that is where I will be..in front of my TV watching. (Unless it's someone I don't like). Apparently Federer has a tough draw, but of course he'll be in the final because "oh, HE'S BACK!" Suree. He was never gone, you losers, he can never BE gone. He will be bothering me the rest of my tennis-loving life! AGH! But all the luck to Pete Sampras who is coming out of retirement to play an exhibition match against him, but that isn't for awhile. Go Andy M, Andy R, and Novak in the French Open!! :) :)

The Yankees had amazing pitching against the Red Sox, and in 1 game their offense was less than stellar (wow, what a cool word). And now their pitching sucks? Poor Tyler Clippard. Whenever a Yankee has his Yankee stadium debut, he is so nervous and gives up a bunch of hits and runs. Chien-Mien Wang had a shaky 1st inning, but was amazing the rest of the game, and our offense managed 1 measly run. Good thing Posada has been amazing, ARod is back to hitting homers, and Jeter comes through in key situations. Of course I heard Yanks left 12 risp? Some high number which was completely embarassing. Hopefully they can pull out a win against the Angels, who I now hate. Some complete asshole on the team said that "Boston knows how to respect baseball" (or loves it, I forget). and Anaheim has some of the best baseball fans. Well, right now I HATE Anaheim and their sucky ass fans becaause they ARE the complete assholes in every sport!! That Angels guy can go shove all that up his ass. He called the Yanks fans mean and they have no respect and like it when Yankees are crushing everybody. Um, hell yeah who doesn't like to win?!?!? he pissed me off, as you can tell. I hope the Yanks smack a ball into his stomach or something, heh heh. ANd I'm Proud to be a Yanks fan. At least they're sticking by the Yankees less-than-average season so far. Oh and yay for the Twins. They still lost yesterday, but impressive comeback.

Stanley Cup starts tomorrow. Go Ducks!! (You will see...my logic WILL work...) I don't know what to say about this. Elise can cover for me. Lol. What else to say? Exams this week. I might die by the end of the week. Have a good week, everyone! (And Sarah, you ARE signing my yearbook)

<3 Kelsey

righttt...

2007-05-23T19:56:00.000-05:00

-so sarah's a weird kid...(see the post below)

-i have a headache. im thinking it's from staring at the computer screen for 3 hrs today laying out the sports section for the paper...and 3 hours on tuesday....and 3 hours on monday...thank god it's almost done

-i agree with kelsey that jorge posada's little kid it possibly the cutest child ive seen in my life...

-wow, twins have decided not to suck lately...after an absolute embarassment of losing 14-4 in the first game of the texas series, they actually came back and won...who, you may ask, was the reason? one main person: JUSTIN MORNEAU...one of my favvv players. he had two HRs and went 3-4 in the 7-1 win yesterday (tuesday) and hit another HR today, boosting the twins to a 5-3 lead. thank you justin, that makes you player of the week.

Things of the week:

BASEBALL:

player: Justin Morneau

bust of the week: the fact that the twins are losing all their players to the DL

HOCKEY:

player: i was gonna give this one to ryan getzlaf for his excellence (and gorgeousness) but decided to go with teeeeeemuuuuu selannnnneeeee (picture) for his first stanley cup final!!!

bust: rumors the sharks might get rid of el capitan marleau :(

hmmm...maybe he can come play for the wild...

-elise

bad sports day...yes?

2007-05-20T18:03:00.000-05:00

hola guys! as elise said, what a depressing sunday. k, first of all, federer won. what? that's not fair. the guy loses a few tournaments and it's his worst skid of the year, but it's ok to ruin nadal's 81 clay-win streak. loser. um, secondly, the ducks won. what? that's not cool. how can they get shut out 5-0 and completely suck, then win the next 2 games? still not fair. thirdly, twins lost. don't know the details of the game, but still. that's complete stupidness. ok and now the yankees have their 11th new starting pitcher going tonight. his major league debut. tyler clippard, if you pitch at least 6 solid innings tonight, i will love you forever and ever. and yankees offense, if you do something, i will love you. :) especially jorge posada who is hot hot hot . offensively guys, come on!

now i have to go do an english project...rough draft due tomorrow? what? time flies, huh? i'm off to do that. story time this week ? i think so.

<3 Kelsey, your amigo numero 1~ (P.S Hope you liked the pic. It'll leave you smiling all week, guranteed)

(P.S I had to add two more. They were hard to resist. Jorge Posada and his son running onto the field and the next pic is of his family. I'm about to die of happiness because they're so fricking adorable!)

random thoughts for sunday

2007-05-20T14:55:00.000-05:00

-it's sunday.
-it's cold.
-federer bear nadal, ending nadal's record clay winning streak at 81 which sucks....and the fact that federer won in general kinda sucks.
-sabres were eliminated yesterday...that was unfortunate...now i dont know who to go for to win the stanley cup...anaheim b/c then we can say well, we lost to the ppl who eventually one or detroit because i hate chris pronger and brad may...
-kelsey's working on a science project about invasive species....i told her to do dandelions...of course she didnt listen to me.
-the twins need to re-sign torii hunter...in case they havnt noticed he's kindaaaa saving us right now.
-what was up with scott baker last night? total domination...i like it.
-weird...apparently now there's cover-up to cover ppls tattoos...

wellllll that's all i have to say...for now...i wonder if anyone is actually reading this... -elise

sarah is not important

2007-05-19T19:16:00.000-05:00

this is kelsey and elise....and technically sarah...but she's not important.
kelsey and sarah are too busy being losers right now and having a pillow fight...only sarah doesnt have a pillow so its more like kelsey beating up sarah....with a pillow...now sarah has a pillow....i feel like something is going to break. or a neighbor is going to think someone is being tortured. sarah just hit me in the side of the head with a softie puck.
soooo on to the point of this blog..if there is one. we're here to talk about the loves of our lives....aka the twins, the yankees, the mets, the wild, the sharks, novak djokovic, andy roddick, james blake, and andy murray.
and federer...oh wait....he's our least favorite person ever.
and the anaheim ducks are enemy numero uno in hockey...(except getzlaf)
oh and we "strongly dislike" the chicago whitesox and the boston redsox....b/c come on...who can like the yankees without hating the red sox
oh, and we're REALLY good at pingpong (aka we suck).

sarah and kelsey are very delicate ppl...my ears hurt from their screaming...its annoying...my house is being destroyed. they had a little too much sugar...except there is no sugar in leann chin...

descriptions:
kelsey-i am amigo numero uno (notice the spanish skills)...even tho i take french. i love the yankees soo much!..and hate the red sox...and, thanks to elise, love the wild, especially mikko koivu and brian rolston...who are amazing and novak djokovic and andy roddick are amazing...especially when theyre shirtless ;) ! ...especially when i make elise rewind the tv so i can take a picture of andy roddick's abs. but i dont just love them cuz of how good-looking they are, of course..
elise-i am the smart one. not crazy like the other two. i got both of them obsessed with the wild because i am obsessed with them. my favorite player was willie mitchell before he started playing for the canucks...i also like the sharks (fav=matt carle)....and the twins.....and tennis....yay
sarah- i'm sarah. hi. as we speak, type, write, whatever, my tummy really hurts. i think it was because i just had a bar of chocolate, after my dinner my lee ann chins. it was pretty good. but enough about food, not that you can ever get enough of the stuff, but that's not the point of this blog thingy. i think. i'm a HUGE!!! Yankee fan, because i was born in ny, and my dad is also a really big fan. So there's that and elise and kelsey can be blamed for my new-found addiction with the Wild. They're awsome, no if ands or buts. Well, CSI is on now, so i'm having a hard time concentrating. Write to ya later, Sarah*

soooo, that's us...now we'll see if anyone actually reads this...which, of course everyone will...we know that.